Bolivia: Corruption Accusations Seek to Curb Arce’s Candidacy
The coup-born regime tries to impede the participation of the Socialist presidential candidate Luis Arce.
Friday Luis Arce, the presidential candidate of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), denounced Bolivia’s interim government for trying to obstruct his participation in the next elections by filing allegations of corruption against him.
“People who know me know that I have never stained my hands. My conscience is calm,” Arce said and added that “the intention of all that is clear: they want me not to participate in the elections.”
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On Jan. 21, prosecutor Heidi Gil announced that she would expand the investigation into an alleged diversion of resources from the Indigenous Development Fund (Fondioc).
In this case, prosecutors are targeting some former officials of President Evo Morales administration (2006-2019), among whom are former Minister of Economy Luis Arce and former Minister of the Presidency Juan Ramon Quintana.
It's official: President Evo Morales and the leadership of the Movement Towards Socialism name Luis Arce as nominee for Presidential candidate & David Choquehuanca as Vice Presidential candidate for the MAS-IPSP. The duo will run in Bolivia's May 3rd election. pic.twitter.com/b5YTmLX3BD
— Camila (@camilateleSUR) January 19, 2020
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The MAS presidential candidate indicated that legal procedures against former socialist ministers were expedited immediately after he announced his presidential candidacy, “which is quite curious.”
Arce is concerned about the transparency of the upcoming May elections, for members of the Electoral Tribunal have “strong links with right-wing parties.”
On Jan. 23, social organizations supporting MAS officially accepted Luis Arce as their presidential candidate and David Choquehuanca as their vice-presidential candidate.
According to the latest polls published by local companies such as Atlas Electoral and Taxi Noticias, 79 percent of respondents would vote for the MAS candidates.
Featured image: Luis Arce (R) during a celebration of Bolivia’s Plurinational State Foundation Day, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jan. 22, 2020. | Photo: Reuters
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