(La Paz) Dans une apparente tentative de coup d’État, des militaires boliviens se sont postés avec leurs blindés devant le palais présidentiel de La Paz, mercredi. Après quelques heures seulement, les troupes rebelles se sont retirées, et leur général a été arrêté. Des cégépiens québécois en voyage nous ont raconté l’agitation qui régnait dans la ville.
Lucas Delgado-Lapointe et ses cinq amis venaient tout juste de poser leurs bagages dans l’appartement qu’ils avaient loué à La Paz, mercredi après-midi, quand la propriétaire de l’immeuble a cogné à la porte. « Elle nous a dit de faire attention en sortant parce qu’il commençait à y avoir de l’action dehors. C’est là qu’on a allumé les nouvelles et qu’on a vu [ce qui se passait] “, said the young man, on the phone with The Press.
With their eyes glued to the television, the students of the Saint-Laurent CEGEP saw Bolivian soldiers stationed in front of the presidential headquarters, which is one kilometer from their accommodation. “We also heard gunshots and explosions coming from outside. We could see smoke through the window,” added Lucas Delgado-Lapointe.
Earlier, early in the afternoon, army units had advanced through the streets of La Paz in close ranks to Murillo Square, in front of the residence of President Luis Arce. Armored vehicles broke down the door of the palace, where General Juan José Zúñiga entered. “The armed forces are trying to restructure democracy, to make it a real democracy,” the general said.
PHOTO JUAN KARITA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
General Juan José Zúñiga after his arrest
“We were imagining what would happen if it got worse, we were looking for a way to get out of the city […], we tried to contact the embassy, which was closed and which did not help us,” lists Lucas Delgado-Lapointe. The six friends, aged 19 to 21, chose to follow the instructions set out on television and stay indoors.
Call for mobilization
PHOTO JUAN KARITA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Luis Arce surrounded by his supporters shortly after the attempted coup.
In a video message, Luis Arce called on Bolivians to take to the streets to show their support for his government. “We need the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup, in favor of democracy,” declared the leftist president, surrounded by his ministers.
Saint-Laurent CEGEP students saw the extent of the mobilization when they went out to stock up on food in a nearby store. “The demonstrations made it difficult to move around, the streets were really congested,” says Angel Moreno Sanchez, one of the young travelers. “We could still hear explosions,” adds her friend Elizabeth Juliette Eberle-Sinatra.
Late in the afternoon, Luis Arce dismissed the rebel general and replaced him immediately. Rebel troops eventually retreated behind a line of military vehicles, ending the apparent coup attempt. Hundreds of Luis Arce supporters then rushed to the square in front of the palace, applauding and waving Bolivian flags. “Thank you to the Bolivian people,” said the president. Let democracy live. »
Juan José Zúñiga was apprehended and arrested on Wednesday evening while speaking to journalists outside a barracks in the capital. He was taken to the police station of the Special Crime Fighting Force (FELCC). The prosecution did not specify what charges the general will face.
A backdrop of tensions
Rumors that Juan José Zúñiga could be dismissed from his position had been circulating since Tuesday, according to Agence France-Presse. Appointed commander of the Bolivian army in November 2022, the general is said to have exceeded his function by making statements against Evo Morales, the former leftist president of Bolivia.
In a television interview Monday, the army chief said he would arrest Morales if he decided to run again, after a court ruling determined he could no longer be a candidate. “Legally, he is disqualified, he can no longer be president of this country,” said Juan José Zúñiga.
Formerly Luis Arce’s ally, Evo Morales is now his greatest political adversary, ahead of the 2025 presidential election. The opposition between the two politicians has paralyzed the government’s efforts to resolve the major crisis for several months economy that afflicts Bolivia. Morales’ allies in Congress notably put obstacles in the way of Luis Arce on several occasions when the president tried to tackle the national debt.
Wednesday’s rebellion follows months of tension marked by increasingly loud protests to denounce the economic crisis. Analysts cited by the Associated Press fear unrest will explode in this historically turbulent nation of 12 million people.