“We have restored democracy,” Morales responded from Argentina. “Lucho (Luis Arce, ed.) Will be our new president.” Arce himself also spoke up: “I think the Bolivian people want to return to the path we had taken.” He called on his countrymen to calm down and announced that he wants to form a government of national unity.
Arce was Minister of the Economy for more than 10 years under President Morales. Under their rule, the country improved economically and poverty decreased. Now Arce will have to get the economy going again, in times of corona. Bolivia was also hit very hard by the virus. In a population of about 11.5 million inhabitants, about 8,400 people have already died from COVID-19.
Arce will also have to try to step out of the shadow of his former boss, who is still a polarizing factor in Bolivia. Morales is also under charges of terrorism, but the ex-president plans to return to his country anyway. “Sooner or later we will return, there is no discussion about that. It is just a matter of time,” he said a day after the election.
The question now is whether peace will return to the country with Arce’s victory. After last year’s tumultuous elections and Áñez’s takeover of power, the country is more polarized than ever. The fact that Arce’s opponents already recognize his victory suggests that they may not be calling on their supporters to take to the streets.
View the item from “Het Journaal”:
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