(La Paz) Bolivian President Luis Arce on Thursday denied any conspiracy with the former army chief, arrested on charges of attempting a coup on Wednesday by deploying armored vehicles in front of the presidential palace in La Paz.
Fourteen civilians who opposed the coup, in which elements of the military police took part, were injured by pellet fire, according to the authorities. Some had to be hospitalized and “operated on,” Luis Arce told the press.
General Juan José Zúñiga, arrested the same day after finally withdrawing his troops, claimed to have acted on orders from the president who asked him to “stage something to increase his popularity”, in a context of serious economic crisis.
“How could a self-coup be ordered or planned? […] He acted on his own,” Mr. Arce replied on Thursday. “Unfortunately for him, and it showed, I am not a politician who will gain his popularity with the blood of the people.”
On Wednesday, Luis Arce swore in a new command of the armed forces. In addition to the general and the head of the Navy, Juan Arnez Salvador, 15 people were arrested.
The two men are being prosecuted for “armed uprising and terrorism” and face up to 20 years in prison.
The institutional storm lasted only a few hours, but enough to reveal the country’s fragilities as appetites sharpened in view of the 2025 presidential election.
The motivations of army chief Juan José Zúñiga, who had stationed men and armoured vehicles in Murillo Square, opposite the parliament and the presidential palace, remain unclear.
Before his arrest by the police, General Zuniga had said he wanted to “restructure democracy, make it a real democracy […] Not that of a few, not that of a few masters who have ruled the country for 30 or 40 years.”
The Minister of Government (Interior), Eduardo Del Castillo, castigated “two military putschists who wanted to destroy democracy”.
On Thursday, he presented to the media 15 other people arrested, handcuffed, surrounded by police. “This operation had been planned since May,” he said, adding that three other suspects were being sought.
The United Nations has called for “a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of violence.”
The presidency released images on Wednesday showing the door to the presidential palace forced open by an armored vehicle and the general entering the compound, while his men fired tear gas.
They also show the left-wing president coming to meet the general and admonishing him: “I am your captain […] bring all the military police back to their barracks […] withdraw all these forces now. It’s an order, general.”
Condemnation of General Zúñiga’s action poured in from around the world.
Russia, where Mr. Arce met President Vladimir Putin in early June on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg economic forum, expressed “solidarity with Bolivia, a brother country and a reliable and strategic partner,” and warned against any foreign “interference.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday he was maintaining a visit planned for July 9 to Bolivia to support his “friend” Luis Arce and “democracy.”
“People have to keep in mind that there are interests in carrying out a coup,” he told Itatiaia radio, stressing that the country “is generating a lot of interest internationally for its lithium and gas reserves”.
Because this episode occurs in a context of strong economic turbulence caused by the fall in income due to low gas production, its main source of foreign currency until 2023, a surge in prices and a scarcity of dollars causing the anger of traders of all kinds, while a fuel shortage stretches queues in front of service stations.
The United States, France, Spain and a large number of South American countries also condemned the coup.
For Gustavo Flores-Macias of Cornell University in the United States, “the fact that the coup failed does not mean that the situation in Bolivia is resolved, on the contrary: it was a symptom of discontent very important that exists in large sectors”.
The country is experiencing severe turbulence due to a fall in its gas production, its main source of foreign currency until 2023, and a surge in prices. The scarcity of dollars has notably provoked the anger of traders and a shortage of fuel.
Also in the background: a conflict between Mr Arce and his political mentor, former President Evo Morales (2006-2019), both keen to run on behalf of the ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party. , in the 2025 presidential election.
General Zúñiga had previously expressed under force his firm opposition to a possible return to power of Mr. Morales, who enjoys strong support throughout the country, but who according to a decision of the Constitutional Court cannot compete.