Bolivia: a self-coup by a socialist regime that keeps opposition leaders in prison

Yesterday, Bolivia experienced a surreal situation led by a military man, Juan José Zúñiga, general commander of the Bolivian Army.

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An alleged coup in the middle of a dispute between the socialists Arce and Morales

Zúñiga attacked the presidential palace, the residence of socialist Luis Arce, in the middle of a tough dispute between the current president and his former ally, Evo Morales, for the leadership of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS). For months now, both have been facing each other because they equally aspire to be MAS candidates to the presidency of the Republic. In parallel with this dispute, Bolivia is experiencing serious economic difficulties, which has caused a drop in Arce's popularity for months.

The leader of the coup is a close friend of President Luis Arce

All this happens in a country with a socialist regime that has assaulted all institutions, including the Armed Forces. In fact, the greatest paradox of this apparent coup d'état is that Zúñiga and Arce "are very friends", according to Bolivian political scientist Lily Peñaranda, who adds: "The Constitutional Court juggled four years ago and reopened the lists of possible candidates for high military command to be chosen by the president. And he precisely chose Zúñiga, who was the 48th graduate, that is, with very bad grades." Coincidentally, a few months ago Evo Morales affirmed that the Constitutional Court was "controlled by the government".

General Zúñiga publicly threatened the opposition two years ago

The paradox is that Zúñiga became commander of the Bolivian Army as a brigadier general (in the ranks of that army there are two ranks above that: division general and, at the top, army general). Arce promoted Zúñiga to the rank of division general after his appointment as commander general of the Army, and amid criticism by Zúñiga's public threats against the opposition, as happened ago two years. "Clearly he makes a payment of favors surely demonstrating his loyalty to the Movement Towards Socialism. It is a shame that our military institution has to do that", denounced.

Zúñiga affirms that he followed orders from Arce, who wanted to improve his popularity

These events shed a lot of light on what happened yesterday: Zúñiga withdrew from the presidential residence obeying an order from Arce himself, a surprising attitude for who supposedly He was leading a coup d'état. Before being arrested, Zúñiga revealed to the media that everything was a setup in which he followed orders from Arce, who intended to improve his popularity:

El general confiesa el autogolpe de Bolivia y la izquierda ya estaba culpando a la CIA 😂pic.twitter.com/IPwhRP8XYj

— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) June 27, 2024

Foro Madrid points out the reality of what is happening in Bolivia

Obviously, many governments of other countries have ignored all these facts and have spoken out in support of democracy in the face of the coup, with which Arce is strengthened against Morales . Faced with so much political myopia, today Foro Madrid has pointed out the reality in a community in which this institution warns:

General Juan José Zúñiga declared that he had heeded the order of Bolivian President Luis Arce to stage a military self-coup to increase Arce's popularity in the midst of a deep crisis of legitimacy and authority inside and outside his Movement to Socialism (MAS).

The self-coup is launched in La Paz on the eve of a meeting of the São Paulo Forum and the Puebla Group in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, which has generated widespread rejection from Hondurans.

This unfortunate political spectacle that occurred in Bolivia has led to an immediate and coordinated response from the entire regional left to 'condemn the coup d'état of the extreme right'. In this way they seek to victimize themselves in the midst of a series of serious problems faced by their main representatives throughout the region and in the face of foreseeable electoral defeats, starting with next year's election in Bolivia.

The Madrid Forum has recalled that since Arce came to power in 2020, "the Masista regime has followed the path of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, persecuting the opposition, promoting violence and attacks against democratic institutions." The Madrid Forum statement adds: "Until this moment, the Masista regime keeps more than 185 political prisoners kidnapped in an unjust, illegal and inhuman manner - among them, the former constitutional president Jeanine Áñez and Luis Fernando Camacho, governor of Santa Cruz."

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Photo: AFP. The president of Bolivia, the socialist Luis Arce, with General Zúñiga in an event held on April 18, 2024.