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Bolivia’s armed forces have withdrawn troops from the presidential palace and surrounding areas following an apparent failed coup attempt in the South American nation.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show military vehicles leaving the central plaza in La Paz, hours after an armoured vehicle rammed into the entrance of the presidential palace and heavily-armed soldiers forced their way inside.
As night began to fall on the capital, police officers secured the Plaza Murillo, just outside the palace, and supporters of the government gathered in solidarity.
President Luis Arce, who just hours earlier denounced an attempted military coup against his leftwing administration, appeared before the crowd atop the shoulders of an unknown person, victoriously pumping his fists in the air as supporters waved Bolivian flags and cheered.
“Bolivia is facing a coup attempt,” Arce, a onetime protégé of the country’s former leftist leader Evo Morales, said earlier on Wednesday during a brief televised statement from an unknown location. “We need the Bolivian people to organise and mobilise against the coup-plotters.”
General Juan José Zúñiga has been accused by politicians of leading a putsch. Zúñiga, dressed in military fatigues, told a local television crew outside the palace that “the three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay. There will be a new cabinet of ministers, surely things will change, but our country cannot continue like this any longer.”
Zúñiga also demanded the release of several politicians who have been jailed, including two opposition leaders: former president Jeanine Áñez — who briefly led Bolivia from 2019-20 — and former governor Luis Fernando Camacho.
Prosecutors announced on Wednesday evening that they would begin a criminal investigation against Zúñiga. Local media soon after reported that he had been arrested.
Zúñiga was relieved of his command earlier this week after saying Morales — who initially claimed victory in a disputed presidential election in 2019, but later resigned — should not be allowed to run again for president.
Shortly after the attack on the palace, Arce swore in new military brass, who called on the troops to stand down. The country’s Supreme Court condemned the “attack on democratic stability” and reaffirmed its commitment to “guarantee law and justice”.
Tensions have been rising in Bolivia in recent weeks, as Arce and Morales — formerly allies from the ruling Movement Towards Socialism party — have been engaged in a caustic split.
Morales, who still wields significant influence, called on his supporters to mobilise in support of democracy. “We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate people,” Morales posted on X.
Bolivia, a landlocked country of 12mn people in the high Andes, has experienced numerous coups since gaining independence in 1825.
Morales, a former coca farmer who led the country from 2006 to 2019, has pledged to run against Arce in next year’s presidential election. His term was marked by democratic backsliding as he championed indigenous rights.
Meanwhile, the economy has been struggling amid dwindling reserves of foreign currency and natural gas, the country’s main export. The boliviano’s peg to the dollar has all but collapsed.
A law passed last year allowing the central bank to sell gold reserves somewhat alleviated the brewing financial crisis, though at the end of last year the bank had 23.5 tonnes of gold left, just above the legal threshold of 22 tonnes.
The military action on Wednesday drew swift condemnation from across the globe.
The US was “closely monitoring” the situation and urged “calm and restraint”, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said: “The European Union condemns any attempt to break constitutional order in Bolivia and overthrow democratically elected governments.”
Luis Almagro, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States, called on the army to submit itself to the “legitimately elected civil power” in Bolivia.
Mexico’s president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum offered unconditional support for Arce in a post on X. “The uprising of some units of the armed forces of Bolivia is an attack on democracy. We strongly condemn these acts,” she wrote. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, said he wanted “democracy to prevail in Latin America; coups never work out”.
