LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — After a debate that ended with blows in the Chamber of Deputies, Bolivian President Luis Arce sought on Friday to break a tough legislative blockade led by his former ally Evo Morales and center and right-wing opponents who They refuse to approve credits to reactivate the economy.
The president, who has lost control of the Legislative Assembly, is pressing for credits for some 900 million dollars to be approved first in the lower house and then in the Senate for various projects.
The debate resumed on Friday after some deputies fought and pushed each other the day before to prevent the ruling party from setting up the session if a law was not first approved to remove magistrates from their duties who extended their mandate after the Assembly It did not reach a consensus to replace the judges who were due to leave their positions at the end of the year.
The ruling Movement towards Socialism (MAS) was divided in two last year: one wing is led by Morales, the historical head of that party, and the other by Arce. According to analysts, the background of the dispute is the official candidacy for the 2025 presidential elections. Only one of them can go for the MAS after the primaries that will be held in August.
Morales has already said that he plans to be a candidate while Arce has remained cautious although many assume that he will seek re-election.
“Arce has no money and is in a hurry to show results in the face of a weakening economy. And in the face of the loss of legislative support, justice is their political support. Morales is desperate to return to power and Arce will seek re-election. “This power play is polarizing the country,” analyst and university political science professor Paul Coca told The Associated Press.
The Bolivian Constitutional Court ordered in mid-December, in the absence of elections in the Judiciary, that the current authorities be renewed in their positions. The decision was questioned by Morales’ followers since those magistrates were the ones who annulled the indefinite re-election, which affects the former president’s intention to run for office in 2025.
Despite its internal struggle, the MAS continues to emerge as an alternative to a weakened and divided opposition from the center and right.
“Arce has lost governability and seeks to govern with the magistrates who were extended in office, he wants to neutralize the Legislature and then he will seek to close it,” said opposition deputy Edwin Bazán.
Arce recently accused Morales of being “the main opponent” and of “boycotting” his administration for “personal interests.” With the current government “we are the same or worse than in the neoliberal past, living off international alms,” Morales responded on his X account, formerly Twitter.
Former President Morales (2006-2019) previously accused Arce, his former Minister of Economy for 10 years, of “manipulating justice” to remove him from the electoral race. Experts estimate that the final decision on who will be the MAS candidate will remain in the hands of justice.
Last month Morales led a highway blockade for more than two weeks against Arce.
2024-03-01 17:05:47
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