Bolivia arrests 17 as failed coup deepens instability
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Bolivian General Juan Jose Zuniga is presented to the media, following his arrest over the coup attempt in La Paz.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LA PAZ - Bolivian authorities on June 27 paraded handcuffed detainees in front of the media, announcing 17 arrests after a botched coup d’etat that has deepened political turmoil in a country mired in severe economic crisis.
Tensions have been rising in recent weeks in the Andean nation over surging prices, shortages of dollars and fuel, and a feud between Mr Arce and the powerful former president Evo Morales ahead of 2025 elections.
Riot police kept close watch over government buildings a day after army chief Juan Jose Zuniga deployed troops and tanks to the heart of the capital
“The armed forces intend to restructure democracy, to make it a true democracy and not one run by the same few people for 30, 40 years,” General Zuniga said.
Shortly thereafter, the soldiers and tanks pulled back from the historic Plaza Murillo square, and local television broadcast images of Gen Zuniga’s arrest.
Bolivia’s naval chief Juan Arnez Salvador was also arrested. The two men face up to 20 years in prison for the crimes of terrorism and armed uprising, prosecutors said.
Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo announced a total of 17 arrests, including active and retired military personnel and civilians, in connection to the attempted coup. Other suspects are still being sought.
The government broadcast a conversation between Mr Arce and Gen Zuniga at the doors of the presidential mansion, surrounded by military personnel in which Mr Arce ordered his army chief to withdraw his troops to their barracks.
Gen Zuniga replied with a blunt “No,” but left the presidential palace a few minutes later.
“We are going to defend democracy and the will of the Bolivian people, whatever the cost!” the 60-year-old Mr Arce wrote on X, formerly Twitter. He has since sworn in new military leaders.
‘A farce’
The coup plot however took an unusual twist as Gen Zuniga told reporters that Mr Arce had ordered a staged uprising, so as to trigger a crackdown that would make him look strong and “raise his popularity.”
“It is absolutely false,” said close presidential aide Maria Nela Prada.
Bolivia’s naval chief Juan Arnez Salvador was also arrested.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Former centrist president Carlos Mesa (2003-2005) wrote on X that the troop deployment “resembles a farce.”
Bolivia, which has a long history of military coups, has in recent weeks been rocked by an economic crisis due to a drop in gas production, its main source of foreign currency until 2023.
The country has had to reduce fuel imports and there is a shortage of dollars, which has triggered protests by powerful unions of merchants and freight transporters.
Expert Gustavo Flores-Macias, a professor of government at Cornell University in New York state, told AFP the failed coup was “a symptom of a significant and broad discontent” in the country.
For now, “we must carefully evaluate how widespread the discontent is within the armed forces,” he said, adding that Mr Arce’s government was facing “a critical moment of weakness.”
Bolivia is also deeply polarised after years of political instability, and the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party is riven by internal conflict between supporters of Mr Arce and his former mentor Mr Morales.
Bolivian president Luis Arce (left) confronts army general Juan Jose Zuniga over the general’s coup attempt.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Political tug-of-war
Mr Morales, who was Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, was extremely popular until he tried to bypass the constitution and seek a fourth term in office in 2019.
The leftist won that vote but was forced to resign amid deadly protests over alleged election fraud, and fled the country.
He returned after Mr Arce won the presidency in October 2020.
Since then, a power struggle has grown between the two men, and Mr Morales has increasingly criticised the government and accused it of corruption, tolerating drug trafficking, and sidelining him politically.
Six months ago, the Constitutional Court disqualified Mr Morales from the 2025 elections. But he is still seeking nomination as the MAS candidate.
Mr Arce has not said whether he will seek reelection. The opposition does not have significant support.
Russia “strongly” condemned the attempted military coup, its foreign ministry said on June 27, warning against “destructive foreign interference” in the South American country.
UN chief Antonio Guterres “welcomes the peaceful resolution of the situation,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, having earlier expressed alarm over the abortive coup.
Condemnations of the coup bid also poured in from Madrid, Washington and across Latin America. AFP
