Evo Morales increases tension in Bolivia: “Luis Arce is not only desperate, but also confused”

File photo dated September 3, 2024 of former Bolivian President Evo Morales (2006-2019), during a meeting with social organizations this Tuesday in Villa Tunari (Bolivia). EFE/Jorge Ábrego

Former President Evo Morales referred on Monday morning to the message given to him the day before by his successor, Luis Arce, through a video in which he accused him of wanting to convulse the country for electoral interests and shorten his mandate. “Luis Arce is not only desperate, but also confused,” he wrote on his X account.

Morales has announced a march from the town of Caracollo (Oruro) to La Paz for this Tuesday, which joins the protests of other sectors in a complex week for the Government. “His message to manipulate public opinion and hold me responsible for the protests organized by social movements is not up to the level of his position,” said Morales and asked “to have respect for our people in their moments of struggle.”

In yesterday’s message, which lasted just over 11 minutes, Luis Arce said that the march is motivated by the electoral interests of Evo Morales who wants to impose his candidacy “by fair means or foul.” In response, the former president said that the mobilization is not to favor one person but because of the reaction of a “people tired of an unconscious government, which has maintained absolute silence in the face of the crisis, corruption and the destruction of stability.”

Surrounded by pro-government peasants, Luis Arce accused his former mentor of trying to make things worse for him so that he could appear as a “savior” of Bolivia and “stay in power for another 14 years or more.”

Bolivian President Luis Arce (l) and former Bolivian President and leader of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), Evo Morales, in a file photo. EFE/Jorge Ábrego

The head of state explained that the ministers of his Cabinet responded to the list of requests that Evo Morales sent, in a 23-page document in which they respond to each of the demands focused on economic and political aspects.

The week promises to be a conflictive one for the country. In addition to the mobilization called by Evo Morales, which he has called the National March to Save Bolivia, there will be a road blockade in La Paz by peasants from the highlands and other marches at the Government headquarters led by unions.

The dispute between the two political leaders is based on power within the party and the candidacy of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) in 2025, something that has caused an apparently irreconcilable division within the largest political organization in the country.

The partisan conflict has gone beyond the limits of the political instrument and supporters of both politicians are taking their protest to the streets and to democratic institutions. In response to the demonstration called by Evo Morales, supporters of Luis Arce are putting pressure on the legislative and judicial bodies to favour the Executive.

Supporters of Evo Morales take part in a meeting of the Evo wing of the party in Villa Tunari, Cochabamba, September 3, 2024. REUTERS/Patricia Pinto

At the entrance to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, members of the Bolivian Workers’ Union, which is close to the government, set up a vigil to force legislators to approve international loans requested by Luis Arce and other “social laws.”

On the other hand, representatives of the Unity Pact (an alliance of five social organizations that support the MAS government) are holding a vigil at the doors of the Constitutional Court in Sucre, demanding that the judges resolve the appeals and validate Grover García, from the Arcist wing of the party, as president of the MAS.