(La Paz) Rebel Bolivian soldiers accused by President Luis Arce of leading a “coup d’état” withdrew on Wednesday from the place they occupied with armored vehicles in front of the presidential palace in La Paz, AFP noted .
The former head of the Bolivian armed forces, General Juan José Zúñiga, dismissed from office by President Luis Arce who accuses him of attempting a coup on Wednesday, was arrested by the police, according to images broadcast by public television.
Mr. Zúñiga was apprehended and forced into a police vehicle while speaking to the press outside a military barracks. “You are under arrest, General! », told him the Minister of the Interior Jhonny Aguilera.
At the beginning of the afternoon, army units had advanced through the streets in close ranks to Murillo Square, in front of the presidential headquarters, where a tank and other armored vehicles were positioned.
Mr. Arce then denounced on the social network X “the irregular movements of certain units of the Bolivian army”. “Democracy must be respected,” he said.
According to AFP journalists on site, an armored vehicle tried to break down a metal door of the Palacio Quemado, the seat of the presidency, and the head of the army, General Juan José Zúñiga, briefly entered the palace.
The senior officer said the military intended to “restructure democracy” in Bolivia.
“The armed forces are trying to restructure democracy, to 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,” he said in front of the palace, surrounded by soldiers.
In a video message to the nation alongside government ministers, Arce called for mobilization. “We need the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup, in favor of democracy,” he said.
Mr Arce deposed the rebel general and swore in a new command of the armed forces, according to footage broadcast live on national television.
Former president Evo Morales (2006-2019) also said on X that “a coup d’état is being prepared”.
“Soldiers and tanks are deployed in Murillo Square,” he wrote, calling “for a national mobilization to defend democracy.”
In an interview on Monday with a television channel, General Zuñiga said he would arrest Mr. Morales if he continued to want to run for president, while the Constitutional Court decided in December 2023 that he could not. not.
“Legally he is disqualified, he can no longer be president of this country,” the general said. The military “are the armed arm of the country and we will defend the Constitution at all costs,” he added.
Bolivia’s ruling party, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), is deeply divided between Mr. Arce and Mr. Morales, once allies and now adversaries in the 2025 presidential election.
Evo Morales is seeking the nomination on behalf of the MAS. Luis Arce has not yet made an official candidacy.
The situation in Bolivia has been denounced by the majority of South American countries.
Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro said “no form of violation of constitutional order will be tolerated” in Bolivia, expressing “solidarity with President Luis Arce” from Asuncion , where the general assembly of the organization is being held until Friday.
For her part, Honduran President Xiomara Castro, current president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), called on the group’s member countries to “condemn the fascism that today attacks democracy in Bolivia and to demand full respect for civil power and the Constitution.”
In Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for “respect for democracy and the rule of law” in Bolivia.
The United States said it was monitoring the situation “closely,” calling for calm, according to a White House spokeswoman.
