(Bloomberg) — Bolivian troops led by a senior general stormed the presidential palace on Wednesday as socialist President Luis Arce denounced a coup attempt and called on his supporters to take to the streets to defend democracy.
Military personnel had already taken over the capital’s main square when they crashed a tank into the palace, then used tear gas to try to repel chanting crowds, according to images broadcast on local TV.
“We need for the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup d’etat and in favor of democracy,” Arce said in a nationwide address flanked by his cabinet. He said he was located at Casa Grande, an annex that is next door to the presidential palace that was stormed.
Arce said on social media earlier that some military units were conducting “irregular” operations. TV images showed army general commander Juan Jose Zuniga entering the palace after the armored vehicle hit it. He then quickly left the building.
Zuniga was fired earlier this week after saying he would prevent former President Evo Morales from running again for the presidency, El Pais reported. Arce and Morales have a thorny relationship but used to be close political allies in the left-wing MAS party.
Arce’s socialist government, which was elected in 2020, has recently struggled with an economic crisis amid dwindling natural gas exports, a shortage of dollars and a currency peg that has effectively collapsed.
Bolivia is among the world’s most politically turbulent nations, having had nearly 200 coups and revolutions since it won independence from Spain two centuries ago. Morales was ousted by the army as recently as 2019 after a disputed election.
The country narrowly avoided a financial crisis in 2023 by passing a law to allow the central bank to sell about half of its gold reserves. Six months later, that had nearly all been spent: The bank had just 23.5 tons of gold left at the end of the year, and the law says this figure can’t drop below 22 tons.
Presidential Elections
Morales recently split with Arce as the two battled for control of the ruling socialist party. He also denounced the coup attempt.
The move by Bolivia’s military come just as Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other leftist Latin American presidents sought to reunite Arce and Morales ahead of next year’s presidential elections in Bolivia, according to a Brazilian government official.
Brazil, however, didn’t see any indication that a coup was underway, a second official said. Both requested anonymity in discussing Lula’s strategy.
The Brazilian president had already announced plans to meet Arce in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in the beginning of July, right after a Mercosur summit that will take place in Paraguay.
Nations including Ecuador and Brazil said that democracy must be upheld in Bolivia. The secretary of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, said on X that he condemned the events.
“The army should subject itself to the civil powers legitimately elected,” he said.
–With assistance from Simone Iglesias.
(Adds government reaction from third paragraph)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
