Fluoroscopy | “Self-coup”?

name

Luis Arce

age

60 years old

job

President of Bolivia

Key words

coup, coup, unpopularity

Why are we talking about it?

Because this week in Bolivia, a coup attempt was made to overthrow leftist President Luis Arce, who has been in power since 2020. The military stormed Murillo Square and smashed the doors of the presidential palace with an armored vehicle. The rebellion was led by the commander-in-chief of the army, Juan José Zúñiga, under the pretext of “restructuring democracy.”

Arrests

The rebellion ended bloodlessly by the end of the day. The conspirator was arrested, along with two of his alleged accomplices and about twenty other people linked to the coup. Mr. Zuniga was arrested while speaking to the press outside a military barracks. He was placed in pretrial detention and faces charges of “armed uprising and terrorism.”

Shocking statement

End of story? Not quite. Before his arrest, General Zúñiga claimed that President Arce himself had ordered him to carry out the coup attempt. “The situation is very critical,” the president told me. “Something must be prepared to increase my popularity,” the general said. The shocking statement has since sparked a flurry of speculation about the failed coup attempt. In response to the allegations, opposition senators and government critics have described the rebellion in particular as a “self-coup” — an assertion the government vehemently denied on Friday.

An unlikely hypothesis

Professor at the University of British Columbia and author of the book Challenges facing democracy in the AndesMaxwell Cameron also does not believe the coup plotters' claims. “It is absolutely ridiculous to claim that this was a self-coup, for the simple reason that a self-coup does not begin with a military uprising, but with the president declaring: We have reached an untenable situation, and I have no choice but to shut down Congress and suspend the Constitution because I need these powers to resolve the crisis.” This is not what happened, in my opinion. All of this seems more like a traditional attempt at a military coup, an attempt that was not well prepared. According to the expert, the general may have wanted to take the initiative, as his days at the head of the army were numbered after his controversial statements. in the media.

Regained popularity

The general's assertions are correct on one point: that the coup attempt actually led to an “increase in popularity” of President Luis Arce. Just over a year after the end of his term that began in 2020, this former economist, ex-Finance Minister (2009-2017) and current leader of the MAS (Movement Socialist) party, was facing growing discontent among his population of 12 million. Bolivia has already seen an intensification of protests in recent months against the deterioration of its economy, which has transformed from one of the most dynamic economies on the continent to one of the worst hit by the crisis, due to falling revenues from oil and gas exports as well as shortages and rising prices that have stifled families.

Morales' return

Bolivia has also seen major conflict in recent months between Mr. Arce and his former ally Evo Morales. Morales, the first indigenous head of state and president from 2006 to 2019, has made clear that he wants to regain control of the MAS party and return to power, despite a Constitutional Court ruling that prevented him from doing so on the grounds that he had already served longer terms. From the number permitted by the Constitution. He was forced to resign in 2019 after demonstrations denouncing election fraud and went into exile for a year before returning with Luis Arce's victory in 2020. A sign of discord: Mr. Morales on Friday requested an investigation after doing his part and questioning the presidential narrative, expressing surprise at “No injuries, zero gunshots, zero deaths.”

Coming unrest

With this failed coup, Bolivia enters a new phase of political turmoil ahead of the 2025 elections, while anxiety reigns within the military establishment. But Maxwell Cameron hopes that the country will learn lessons from recent events: “We hope that this crisis will have a positive impact on Bolivia and that everyone will think about the importance of preserving democracy and institutional processes. When the virus does not kill you, it makes you stronger…”

With AFP, Associated Press, Yahoo News and Reuters