Bolivia: Thousands march in support of Luis Arce’s government and in repudiation of coup plotters
▲ Supporters of Bolivian President Luis Arce attend a rally in front of the government palace in La Paz, Bolivia.Photo Ap
AP, AFP, Sputnik and Xinhua
The newspaper La Jornada
Saturday, July 13, 2024, p. 24
La Paz, Bolivia. Thousands of workers, miners, teachers, legislators, indigenous people and peasants marched yesterday to express their support for Bolivian President Luis Arce and to condemn the failed coup d’état of two weeks ago.
Lucho, you are not alone!shouted the president’s supporters during the 9-kilometer journey from the city of El Alto to the government headquarters in the center of La Paz, in the Great March of National Concentration in Defense of Democracy, Unity and the Future of Bolivia.
Lucio Quispe, leader of the peasant confederation, declared that the Bolivian people will not allow democracy to be taken away from them. The brothers have come from different departments to march to Plaza Murillo. We are going to defend democracy, our votes and the Constitution.he claimed.
The coup plotters have to hear from here, from Plaza Murillo, that the Bolivian people will not let them passArce told his followers during a speech in front of the Palacio Quemado, the seat of the presidency.
There are always economic interests behind a coup d’état and in our country we have always had to face uprisings to try to take away our natural resources.the president added.
A total of 22 military personnel and civilians are in prison for the June 26 coup attempt led by the then Army Commander, Juan José Zúñiga.
These events have deepened the struggle between former President Evo Morales and Arce for control of the party apparatus and the official candidacy for next year’s elections in the country with just over 12.2 million inhabitants. Only one of them will be able to run for that party.
This week, supporters of each of the aforementioned candidates staged a street clash during a public appearance by Morales at a meeting of political leaders convened by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, to agree on a roadmap for the elections. Yesterday, Arce’s supporters questioned Morales and accused him of trying to destabilize the government.
Morales described the military revolt as “Show” and self-coup organized to boost the popularity of the president. Arce accused the former president of electoralize to the country prematurely and rejected Morales’ conjectures, which he said only seek to sow doubts for personal interests.
The international community expressed its support for the president, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself visited Bolivia this week to support him. In contrast, Argentine President Javier Milei described false accusation of coup d’état which caused diplomatic tension with Buenos Aires.
Adding to the political situation in Bolivia is a deterioration of the economy with fuel shortages and rising costs of living, which are fuelling social protests against Arce.