Soldiers storm Bolivian presidential palace in apparent coup attempt

Bolivia’s presidential palace was stormed by soldiers as the country’s president warned of an unfolding “coup”.
“We are going to recover this homeland,” General Juan José Zúñiga told reporters from Murillo Square after it was taken by troops, according to the El Deber newspaper.

President Luis Arce said a “coup” was underway and demanded Gen Zúñiga stand down the troops which have taken over parts of central La Paz.

The apparent coup attempt was immediately denounced by the leaders of Mexico and Honduras.

Former president Evo Morales called on supporters of democracy to strike and block roads.

He wrote: “A group of the Challapata Special Regiment ‘Mendez Arcos’ took over Plaza Murillo with snipers.

“This seems to indicate that they prepared the coup d’état in advance.

“I ask democratically-minded people to defend the homeland from certain military groups that act against democracy and the people.”

Rumours have been swirling for days that Gen Zúñiga was on the verge of being dismissed. The military chief appeared on television on Monday and said he would arrest Mr Morales if he ran for office again next year.

Bolivian minister Maria Nela Prada published a video on her Facebook account showing the view from a window in a government building.

She said she was witnessing a “coup attempt”.

“I’m in the palace of the people. As you can see this is the Plaza Murillo taken by armed tanks and troops. We understand it is a faction of the military,” she said.

She said military units had taken positions at all four corners of the square and were not letting anyone enter.
“They launched this operation in a totally irregular manner,” she said.

Mr Morales, the first president to come from Bolivia’s indigenous majority, carried out a radical programme after winning power in 2005, aimed at addressing extreme social divisions and inequalities.

The former coca union leader resigned in 2019 after attempting to bypass the constitution and seek a fourth term in power. He was succeeded by opposition senator Jeanine Áñez, who declared herself interim president in November 2019.

Mr Arce won the October 2020 presidential election, returning the Mas socialist party to power.

Morales, head of the ruling MAS socialist party, said that his supporters would mobilize in support of democracy.
He accused Zuniga of seeking to stage a coup and announced a general work stoppage including a call to block roadways.
“We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate people,” Morales said.

Public support for Arce and Bolivia’s democracy has poured in from regional leaders, while even conservative political opponents in Bolivia including jailed ex-President Jeanine Anez have strongly condemned the military action.

“We express the strongest condemnation of the attempted coup d’état in Bolivia. Our total support and support for President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora,” Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on X.

RISING TENSIONS

Tensions have been building in Bolivia ahead of general elections in 2025, with Morales planning to run against former ally Arce, creating a major rift in the ruling socialist party and wider political uncertainty.

Many do not want a return of Morales, who governed from 2006-2019 when he was ousted amongst widespread protests and replaced by an interim conservative government. Arce then won election in 2020.

Zuniga had said recently that Morales should not be able to return as president, which led Arce to strip him of his command this week.

The landlocked South American country is also battling an economic slump with depleted central bank reserves and pressure on the boliviano currency as gas exports have dried up.

Bolivia, a country of 12 million people, has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s precipitous decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken.
The country also has seen a high-profile rift at the highest levels of the governing party. Arce and his one-time ally, leftist icon and former President Morales, have been battling for the future of Bolivia’s splintering Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of elections in 2025.

By Agencies