Bolivia's Evo Morales: President Arce Lied About the Coup; Arce Responds

June 30, 2024 (OrinocoTribune.com)—Indigenous leader and former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, said that current President Luis Arce “deceived and lied” to the people and the world about the recent coup attempt in the South American country.

A few hours after the incident, some analysts noted that the failed coup, people mobilizing, and the infighting between the forces of Arce and Morales put Arce in solid position amidst the 2025 presidential elections and in turn raised his popularity.

Arce and Morales have been estranged since late 2021 and their differences deepened last year due to the holding of a national party congress in which, in the absence of President Arce and his loyal sectors, the former president was ratified as leader of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS) and named “ sole candidate ” for the 2025 elections.

The self-coup hypothesis gained traction after the release of a video of the alleged coup leader, General Juan José Zuñiga, during his arrest stating that the incident was in reality a self-coup ordered by President Arce. For some analysts this may be considered a natural response by a criminal that is trying to evade responsibility, but for others it is extremely beneficial for Luis Arce’s re-election aspirations.

On Sunday, June 30, Evo Morales denounced Arce’s self-coup through his social media accounts, where he regretted “that such a sensitive topic as the denunciation of a coup is used.”

El presidente Luis Arce engañó y mintió al pueblo boliviano y al mundo. Es lamentable que se use un tema tan sensible como la denuncia de un golpe.
Frente a esa realidad, debo pedir disculpas a la comunidad internacional por la alarma generada y agradecer por su solidaridad con…
— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) June 30, 2024

Morales continued on his social media post, “Faced with this reality, I must apologize to the international community for the alarm generated and thank them for their solidarity with our country.” He also called for a full and independent investigation to prove the truth of the incident.

Additionally, on Sunday, during his radio program on Radio Kawsachún Coca, Morales made the same statement,“Lucho (Arce) deceived the Bolivian people and the entire world with this coup or self-coup.”

The leader of the ruling party MAS said that he has doubts about the military action that the government called an “attempted coup d’état,” and that the call that President Arce made to him on Wednesday during the military uprising was “fake solidarity.”

“Beginning Wednesday night, and through Thursday morning, I thought it was a coup, but now I am confused by these details, it seems like a self-coup,” stated Morales, adding that the now imprisoned Zuñiga “will be released in six months.”

Bolivian People Neutralize Military Coup Attempt, Venezuela Fully Supports President Arce

Last Wednesday, June 26, the dismissed military chief of the Bolivian Army, Juan José Zúñiga, mobilized several units of the military force towards the government Palace in La Paz in an attempted coup against President Luis Arce.

The images of the event immediately spread around the world, and in a few hours the outcome culminated in the arrest of General Zúñiga and the ratification of the Bolivian president’s power, as well as the international solidarity of many world leaders.

Evo Morales, ¡no te equivoques una vez más! Claramente lo que ocurrió el 26 de junio fue un #GolpeMilitarFallido en #Bolivia. ¡No te pongas del lado del fascismo que niega lo ocurrido! Los responsables que buscaron tomar el poder por las armas, están siendo procesados y serán… pic.twitter.com/a64IOXZ4nt
— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) June 30, 2024

President Arce responds
For his part, President Arce told Morales later on Sunday to “make no mistake” about the military coup. “Evo Morales, don’t make a mistake once again! Clearly what happened on June 26 was a failed military coup in Bolivia,” the Bolivian president wrote on social media in response to Morales’ comments.

“Don’t take the side of fascism that denies what happened! Those responsible who sought to take power by force of arms are being prosecuted and will be judged, as was the case of the 2019 coup plotters,” Arce added.

MAS infighting
In the dispute between Evo Morales and President Luis Arce, the former vice-president of Bolivia (2006-2019), Álvaro García Linera, during a radio interview last Thursday, repudiated the coup attempt against Arce’s government, adding that the powers that be are always on the lookout and “stick their heads out” when progressive projects are weak, in reference to the internal infight within MAS to decide who will run for president in 2025.

“All over the world, in all democracies, there are de facto powers outside the vote, such as the big business oligarchies, the armed forces, and, in the case of the American continent, the US Embassy,” said García Linera just hours after the attempted coup d’état in Bolivia. Linera voices the calls of many Latin American leaders and analysts about the United States hands that are common to be behind many coup d’etats in the region.

Venezuela’s PSUV leader, Diosdado Cabello, said last Wednesday, that all revolutionary forces in the continent should be on alert as he believes the United States might has not resign to the idea of taking control of the Bolivian natural resources with the fail Wednesday coup. He believes that Washington might be playing a long run destabilization plan and the worst is about to be seen.

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

OT/JRE/MCM