GNV News, November 14, 2024

In Bolivia, within the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, the power struggle between former President Evo Morales and current President Luis Arce is intensifying. Morales, who in 2006 became the country’s first Indigenous president, championed the expansion of Indigenous rights, the reduction of economic inequality, deregulation for coca growers, and the nationalization of industries, and for 14 years governed the country. However, in 2019 a de facto coup occurred, forcing him to resign and flee abroad. The interim government’s mismanagement after his resignation, combined with the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, led to MAS’s Arce taking office as president in the October 2020 election, and Morales also returned to the country. However, Morales’s attempts to assert influence over the Arce administration created significant friction between them.

While President Arce has consolidated control over state institutions and enjoys support in urban areas, Morales wields strong influence among Indigenous communities and in coca-growing regions. In early October 2024, protesting the investigation of Morales on charges of statutory rape and human trafficking, Morales supporters staged road blockades demanding President Arce’s resignation. Later in October, Morales said he had survived an assassination attempt, and an attack on a military facility by Morales supporters—who suspected government officials were behind it—also occurred. Furthermore, on November 8, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling barring Morales from running for re-election.

This leadership struggle is deepening divisions within the MAS party. Along with Morales’s weakening and President Arce’s declining approval ratings, the rise of opposition forces is drawing attention.

Learn more about Bolivia → “Where Is Turbulent Bolivia Headed?”

Current President Luis Arce (left) and former President Evo Morales (right) (2020) (Photo: Divulgação / Flickr [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0])