Bolivia’s military forces apprehended the general suspected of staging a failed coup on Wednesday.
On Wednesday night, the South American country’s army commander, Juan José Zúñiga, was jailed in front of television cameras in La Paz.
This followed after armed soldiers attempted to invade the national palace earlier in the day.
President Luis Arce issued a televised address condemning an attempted coup shortly after an armoured military vehicle crashed into the presidential palace’s entrance and soldiers poured in.
The army had just taken over the Plaza Murillo, a historic central area outside.
Today, the country is facing an attempted coup d’état,” he stated in his address.
Once again the country is up against those who want democracy in Bolivia to be cut short.”
Arce, once a protégé of former socialist leader Evo Morales, urged Bolivians to “mobilise against the coup plotters.”
He replaced Zúñiga with an army commander who instructed the soldiers to stand down.After soldiers retreated in a convoy of military vehicles, Arce was victorious, throwing his hands in the air and congratulating supporters in Plaza Murillo within a few hours.
Earlier, Zúñiga, dressed in military costume, informed a television crew outside the palace that “the three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay.”
He predicted the formation of “a new cabinet of ministers, surely things will change, but our country cannot continue like this any longer” .
Zúñiga sought the release of jailed politicians, including two opposition leaders: former president Jeanine Áñez (who briefly led Bolivia from 2019 to 2020) and former regional governor Luis Fernando Camacho.
During his arrest, Zúñiga told media crews that he was acting on Arce’s request from a meeting days previously.
“It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity,” he cited Arce as saying, without offering any evidence.
According to Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo, Zúñiga’s goal is to increase his popularity and undermine the democratically elected administration.
He also stated that a former vice-admiral of the navy had been arrested.
Zúñiga stated this week that Morales, who initially won a disputed presidential election in 2019 but then resigned, should not be able to run for president again.
Tensions in Bolivia have risen in recent weeks as Arce and Morales, who were formerly allies in the ruling Movement Towards Socialism party, have fought bitterly.
Morales, who still wields tremendous power, urged his supporters to rally in support of democracy.
“We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate people,” Morales wrote on X.
Bolivia, a landlocked country of 12 million inhabitants in the high Andes, has had multiple coups since obtaining independence in 1825.
Morales, a former coca farmer who led the country from 2006 to 2019, has announced that he will challenge Arce in next year’s presidential election.
His administration was marked by democratic backsliding as he advocated for indigenous rights. Meanwhile, the economy has struggled with declining foreign currency reserves and natural gas, the country’s principal export.
A White House National Security Council official stated that the US was “closely monitoring” the situation and encouraged “calm and restraint”.
According to Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, “the European Union condemns any attempt to break constitutional order in Bolivia and overthrow democratically elected governments.”
The secretary-general of the Organisation of American States, Luis Almagro, has urged the army to bow to Bolivia’s legitimately elected civil power.
Final Thought
The involvement of the military in the attempted coup and the subsequent arrest of Zúñiga and a former vice-admiral indicate significant divisions within the armed forces.
The quick replacement of Zúñiga with a new army commander who ordered the soldiers to stand down was crucial in de-escalating the situation.
And also the response from the international community, including the US, EU, and the Organisation of American States, emphasizes the global concern for maintaining democratic order in Bolivia.
Their calls for calm and condemnation of the coup attempt reflect a strong stance against any unconstitutional actions.
