Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, leading a march that began a week ago and arrived Monday at its final destination in La Paz, issued an ultimatum to President Luis Arce, urging him to change government within 24 hours “if he wants to continue governing.”
“If Lucho (Luis Arce) wants to continue governing, he must first, within 24 hours, change the drug-trafficking ministers, the corrupt ministers, the drug-addicted ministers, the racist ministers,” he said, without mentioning any of them in particular.
The former president (2006-2019) led a 190 km “March to Save Bolivia” from the highlands to the capital to protest against economic difficulties, the shortage of dollars and fuel in this South American country.
“Why this march? To say (…) enough of treason and especially enough of corruption, enough of protecting drug trafficking and enough of mismanagement,” Evo Morales told thousands of supporters gathered at the entrance to La Paz, AFP noted. The authorities consider this initiative as an attempted “coup d’état.”
Evo Morales also threatened the government to resolve the fuel shortage “within 24 hours”, otherwise “the mobilizations will continue.”
In a televised message on Sunday, Luis Arce warned that he “will not allow” a “civil war” to break out in his country after the various clashes between his supporters and those of Evo Morales which have left 34 injured since the start of the march.
Evo Morales is behind the largest protests against the government he helped elect, whose term ends in November 2025.
Luis Arce was Evo Morales’s Minister of Economy during his 13 years in power, but both are now rivals for the ruling party’s nomination for the 2025 presidential election. Evo Morales wants to run even though the courts have barred him from doing so. However, he is trying, with the support of a wing of his party, to force the courts to give in.
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