(La Paz) The head of Bolivia’s armed forces was dismissed and arrested on Wednesday after massing men and armored vehicles in front of the presidential palace in La Paz, claiming to want to “restructure democracy”, in what President Luis Arce denounced as a coup attempt.
General Juan José Zúñiga was arrested while speaking to the press outside a barracks in the capital, after withdrawing with his troops from Murillo Square, in front of the presidential palace, which they had occupied several hours.
ARCHIVE PHOTO BOLIVIAN PRESIDENCY
General Juan José Zúñiga
“You are under arrest, General!” », said Interior Minister Jhonny Aguilera, who accompanied the police, according to images broadcast by public television. The senior officer was taken to the headquarters of a special police unit to be questioned by the prosecution, which accuses him of terrorism and armed uprising.
Before being arrested, General Zúñiga maintained to journalists that he had acted on the orders of President Arce, who allegedly asked him on Sunday to “prepare something” to increase his popularity rating.
During the day, the general and his men had advanced in close ranks through the streets of La Paz to Murillo Square, where they positioned eight armored vehicles and fired tear gas at anyone trying to approach.
“Defend democracy”
Mr. Arce then denounced on the social network X “the irregular movements of certain units of the Bolivian army”. “Democracy must be respected,” said the left-wing head of state.
PHOTO JUAN KARITA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rumors have been circulating since Tuesday that General Zuniga, in office since November 2022, could be removed from office.
According to AFP journalists on site, an armored vehicle attempted to break down a metal door of the Palacio Quemado, the seat of the presidency, where General Zúñiga entered briefly before coming out.
Surrounded by soldiers, the person said that “the armed forces are trying to restructure democracy, to make it a real democracy. Not that of a few, not that of a few masters who have ruled the country for 30 or 40 years.”
PHOTO JUAN KARITA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, was surrounded by his supporters as he left the presidential palace.
From the palace, President Arce dismissed the rebel general and immediately swore in a new command of the armed forces, according to images broadcast live on national television.
“We are facing an attempted coup d’état by soldiers who soil their uniforms,” denounced Mr. Arce during the ceremony.
PHOTO AIZAR RALDES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Soldiers in front of the presidential palace in Murillo Square in La Paz, Bolivia, June 26, 2024.
Former president Evo Morales (2006-2019) also affirmed on X that “a coup d’état is being prepared” and called “for a national mobilization to defend democracy”.
The soldiers withdrew in the early evening.
Once they had left, Mr. Arce went out onto the balcony of his palace to greet his supporters gathered by the hundreds in the square. “No one can take away the democracy we have won,” he said.
2025 presidential election
PHOTO AIZAR RALDES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Images show army units advancing through the streets in close ranks, and armoured vehicles and a tank parked in Murillo Square.
Rumors had been circulating since Tuesday that General Zúñiga, in office since November 2022, could be dismissed for having exceeded his duties.
In an interview on Monday with a television channel, he said he would arrest Mr. Morales if he persisted in wanting to run for president in 2025 while the Constitutional Court decided in December 2023 that he could not. .
“Legally, he is disqualified, he can no longer be president of this country,” the general declared.
The military “are the armed arm of the country and we will defend the Constitution at all costs,” he added.
Bolivia’s ruling party, the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), is deeply divided between Mr. Arce and Mr. Morales, once allies and now adversaries in the 2025 presidential election.
Evo Morales is seeking the nomination on behalf of the MAS. Luis Arce has not yet made an official candidacy.
Condemnations of General Zúñiga’s action on Wednesday poured in.
The leaders of Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Colombia called for respect for democracy and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X: “I am a lover of democracy and I hopes that it will prevail throughout Latin America.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro denounced an attempted “coup d’état in Bolivia” orchestrated by “the extreme right with a military traitor”.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned”, and the United States said it was monitoring the situation “closely” and called for calm, according to a White House spokesperson.