Armoured vehicles broke through the gates of the government palace in Bolivia on Wednesday in an attempted coup against President Luis Arce.
The coup attempt failed when Arce’s supporters and trade unions took to the streets against the coup and Arce refused to surrender.
Supporters of the president took to the streets with Bolivian flags and the troops withdrew from the presidential palace. At the same time, Arce appointed a new army commander who ordered the troops to withdraw.
The Bolivian leader said: ‘Here we are, standing firm in Casa Grande to resist any coup attempt. We need the organisation of the Bolivian people,” said the Bolivian leader.
In a video broadcast on Bolivian television, Arce confronted Juan José Zúñiga, the army commander believed to be leading the rebellion, in the corridor of the palace. “I am your leader and I order you to withdraw your troops and I will not tolerate this disobedience,” Arce is heard saying.
Putschist Zúñiga’s hesitation leads to defeat
“Of course there will soon be a new council of ministers, our country, our state cannot continue like this,” Zúñiga told reporters in the square before entering the government building, but said that “for the time being” he recognised Arce as commander-in-chief.
Zúñiga did not explicitly say he was leading a coup, but said at the palace that the military was trying to “restore democracy and free political prisoners”.
Arce, for his part, called for “respect for democracy” in a message posted on his X account. “We cannot allow coup attempts to take the lives of Bolivians again,” Arce said from inside the palace, surrounded by government officials, in a video message sent to news agencies.
An hour later, to cheers from supporters, Arce announced the new heads of the army, navy and air force. The video showed soldiers setting up barricades outside the government palace.
“I order all those who are mobilised to return to their units. No one wants the images we see on the streets,” said newly appointed army commander José Wilson Sánchez.
Putschist general accuses Arce of ‘orchestrating coup’
Zúñiga was taken into custody after the Bolivian Attorney General’s Office issued an arrest warrant for General Zúñiga.
At the time of his arrest, the officer accused Luis Arce of orchestrating a coup attempt to “increase his popularity”.
At the time of his arrest, Zúñiga said: “I met with the president on Sunday at the La Salle school, and the president told me: ‘The situation is terrible, this week is going to be critical. So I must prepare something to increase my popularity,'” Zúñiga is reported to have said.
The general went on to describe his alleged conversation with Arce, claiming that when he asked Arce “if they should remove the armoured vehicles”, Arce replied in the affirmative. According to Zúñiga, military vehicles were mobilised that night and preparations began.
Before his arrest, Zúñiga claimed that this was a “self-coup”.
Local media reported that the general would be charged with terrorism and armed rebellion against the security and sovereignty of the state.
The authorities later announced the arrest of a second person implicated in Wednesday’s events, Juan Arnez Salvador, former commander of the Bolivian navy.
The US is ‘closely monitoring the situation’
Following the coup attempt, Latin American and Caribbean countries such as Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile and Honduras also expressed their support for Arce.
The United States, on the other hand, said only that it was “closely monitoring the situation”.
Earlier this week, Bolivian government sources warned that a US-backed coup was being prepared.
Morales-Arce rivalry in the ruling MAS party?
In addition to economic problems, Bolivia has been rocked for some time by rifts at the highest levels of the ruling party.
Arce and his former ally, former president Evo Morales, are fighting over the future of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) ahead of elections in 2025.
Zuniga was ousted on Monday after appearing on television and saying he would arrest Morales if he ran again next year.
Laws limiting presidential terms do not allow Morales to run again.
In several public statements, Arce had claimed that he was the target of a “soft coup” aimed at “shortening his term” and that Morales’ supporters were behind it.
The former president, for his part, has said that Arce is trying to undermine his desire to run for president again by taking over the leadership of the MAS.
Bolivia is also facing a severe economic crisis due to fuel and foreign currency shortages. Arce blamed Morales for unions taking to the streets in response.
