The first alarm, in the early afternoon in South America, was given byformer Bolivian president Evo Morales, still today leader of the majority party, Movement for Socialism, which represents the current president, the 60 year old Luis Arce, in office since 2020. Shortly afterwards it was the latter, on his social channels, who gave the official news and asked for the support of the population in favor of democracy: in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, the Armed forces have busy la main square, where the presidential palace is located, with the intention of starting a military coup. “We declare an indefinite general blockade and the closure of roads – Morales wrote on Instagram -. We will not allow the Armed Forces to violate democracy and intimidate the population." “We denounce irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian Army – Arce then confirmed on X -. Democracy must be respected."
Bolivia, the military revolt returns. Former general Zúñiga arrested
To lead the coup attempt, then returned in the evening with the troops who retreated but with tension still very high, were the soldiers of the now former general Juan José Zúñiga, which had already been dismissed on Tuesday by President Arce together with three other Army leaders for having addressed - according to the institutional version - threats explicit against Evo Morales. Zúñiga said that "for now" he recognizes Arce as head of the Armed Forces, but that there will be a change in the government: "There will be a new cabinet of ministers, things will certainly change, but our country cannot continue like this", he the general told local media. Also at stake is the release of political prisoners, including the former president Jeanine Anez, sentenced to ten years in prison in June 2022 for having attempted to plot a coup d'état against Evo Morales in 2019. An attempt that forced the former president to flee abroad, only to then return to his homeland but leaving the leadership of the country in Arce.
However, Añez herself has at least formally dissociated herself from the military action, writing on her Twitter, given that she is in prison, that she "completely denies the military mobilization that attempts to subvert the constitutional order. Arce and Evo must be removed by vote in 2025. We Bolivians will defend democracy." It is precisely next year's elections, according to Zúñiga's vision, that will make the Army's intervention necessary, given that Evo Morales, already president for three terms from 2006 to 2019, would like to challenge his party partner in 2025 and reapply to the presidency, which however he is prohibited laid down by the Constitution. “I will not allow the Constitution to be trampled upon – said Zúñiga again, before being arrested in the evening -, to disobey the mandate of the people. The Armed Forces are the armed wing of the people."
Failed coup in Bolivia: here's what happened
The videos circulating online show, among others, a armored vehicle of the army that yes crashes against the entrance to the presidential palace and soldiers entering the building. Prior to that, troops were seen marching through the streets of the capital, before retreating in the evening following the appointment of new Army leaders. Apparently, Zúñiga also entered the government headquarters and personally confronted Arce. “The country is facing an attempted coup d'état – the president then said, still inside the palace -. Today, once again, the country is faced with interests that want to put an end to democracy in Bolivia. I invite the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup and in favor of democracy."
There is also concern on the international front. The Brazilian president Lula, like everyone else in the area as well as the United States itself and the European Union, is carefully observing the evolution of the matter and firmly condemns the military's initiative. There Bolivia moreover, he is in the sights of the USA for the conviction closeness to Vladimir Putin's Russia expressed by President Arce in recent months. And above all, it has in its territory the largest reserve in the world of lithium, the fundamental metal for making electric batteries: 21 million tonnes still to be extracted.
