Bolivia under high tension: soldiers held hostage by supporters of ex-president Evo Morales in a context of anti-government revolt. The country on the verge of political and social chaos…
Bolivia is currently going through a period of strong political and social turbulence. According to sources close to the matter, around twenty soldiers were taken hostage on Friday by supporters of former president Evo Morales. The incident occurred after the latter seized a barracks located in the Chapare region, the true epicenter of the anti-government revolt which is shaking the country.
Irregular armed groups on the offensive
According to an official statement from the Bolivian armed forces, “irregular armed groups” took over a military barracks, taking soldiers hostage and seizing weapons and ammunition. A video broadcast by the local press and confirmed by a military source shows sixteen soldiers surrounded by peasants brandishing sticks. One of the trapped soldiers testifies:
Cacique Maraza’s regiment was taken by groups from Tipnis, they cut off our water and electricity, they took us hostage.
The Tipnis, political stronghold of Evo Morales
The Tipnis, indigenous territories of Chapare, constitute the strongest political base of Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president from 2006 to 2019. Since October 14, his supporters have blocked the country’s main roads to protest against what they consider as a “judicial persecution” against their leader.
Evo Morales is in fact the target of an investigation for the alleged rape of a fifteen-year-old girl when he was at the head of the country. Although he denies the facts, the prosecution ordered his arrest last September before a legal appeal came to cancel this warrant.
An explosive economic situation
Beyond the fate of their former president, the demonstrators are today demanding the resignation of the current head of state Luis Arce. They criticize him for his inability to manage the serious economic crisis caused by the shortage of foreign currencies which is hitting the country.
Luis Arce, a former ally of Evo Morales elected in November 2020, is now seen as a rival by the latter in the run-up to the 2025 presidential election. Despite a judgment disqualifying him from the ballot, Evo Morales, aged 65, counts well run for a new term.
The specter of widespread conflagration
Faced with the hardening of protest movements, President Luis Arce demanded on Wednesday “the immediate lifting of all blocking points”, brandishing the threat of an intervention by the armed forces to put an end to “pressure measures which are strangling” the country . A prospect that does not seem to frighten the demonstrators, like Carlos Flores, a 45-year-old agronomist:
If he brings the army, we are ready to fight. We will continue until his resignation.
Since the start of the crisis, clashes between police and protesters have already left at least 70 injured, including 61 police officers, according to the latest official report. Around twenty blockade points remain active across the country, mainly in the state of Cochabamba, Evo Morales’ stronghold where his supporters, mainly indigenous peasants, remain mobilized en masse.
This paralysis has serious economic consequences, accentuating fuel shortages and causing a surge in the prices of basic products. President Arce estimated on Wednesday the impact of these blockages “at more than 1.7 billion dollars, with terrible consequences for Bolivian families”. A considerable human, social and economic cost for a country already hard hit and which seems to be sinking deeper every day into a spiral of political violence with potentially devastating consequences.
