Evo Morales, former president of Bolivia: ‘The government’s only plan is to eliminate my candidacy’

During a short break from his permanent political campaign, which he’s been engaged in for more than a quarter-of-a-century, Juan Evo Morales Ayma, 64, turns on a computer in his home in the city of Cochabamba, in central Bolivia. On November 10, 2019 — after denouncing a coup d’état and resigning from the presidency — his home was attacked. In a video that recorded broken glass, wine spilled on the floor, walls with the tags “son of a bitch” and “murderer” written in spray paint, the person recording could be heard chuckling: “His excellency had a gym.” The mobile phone panned over a treadmill.

Years later, Morales — who served as president of the Andean country from 2006 until 2019, the first Indigenous person to lead the republic — repaired the damage and turned the makeshift gym into his go-to place for meetings, appointments and video conferences.

From this home office, Morales speaks with EL PAÍS about the issue that has dominated the public conversation in Bolivia for two years: his conflict with incumbent President Luis Arce, who headed the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance during most of Morales’ administration. The former president also discusses the foiled coup that took place this past June 26, which made international news, as well as the government’s alleged plans to stop his candidacy in 2025.

Question. Why do you feel that the June 26 coup in Bolivia was orchestrated by the Arce administration?

Answer. At 11 a.m., some soldiers told me that there was suspicious [activity at a] barracks. I reported it. At 3 p.m., it came out on Twitter that there was a call for an indefinite general strike, with road blockades being set up. When I saw the tanks in Plaza Murillo (the main square in the city center of La Paz, a few feet from the presidential palace) and when I saw [Minister Carlos] Del Castillo caressing the tanks, I asked myself: “What kind of coup is this?” Minutes later, the coup plotters were already talking [with the administration]. And [Del Castillo] was laughing with the general. When there’s an actual military coup, there’s fury… there’s no laughter. It all seems like a show put on by them. When does the OAS (the Organization of American States) or the United States Embassy ever defend a left-wing government? Here, [in Bolivia], the U.S. Embassy suspiciously condemned the coup d’état and the OAS called an emergency meeting. This is proof of Lucho [Luis] Arce’s right-wing position. The coup was staged.

On Wednesday, June 26, the head of the Army, General Juan José Zuñiga, arrived in the plaza in a tank. The previous Sunday, on his radio program, Evo had warned listeners that Zúñiga planned to eliminate him. By Monday, the military man responded that Morales “couldn’t be president of the country anymore” and that, “if necessary,” Zuñiga wouldn’t allow him to “trample on the Constitution.” This commentary was interpreted as a veiled threat against Morales’ candidacy. When Zúñiga rammed the door of the presidential palace with his tank, Arce called Evo to warn him of the military coup and to take shelter. At that moment, Evo was strolling through his fish farm.

Q. Why would Arce stage a coup?

A. Some soldiers who work in the Ministry of Defense told me that the idea of a “self-coup” had been suggested. And, in a ministry, on Wednesday morning, June 2, an official gathered his trusted staff members and told them that [Luis Arce] was going to leave the presidency and hand the government over to a military junta. He told them: “Evo cannot win, he cannot be the president.” And he announced that, in the afternoon, there would be clashes in the Plaza Murillo.

I was prepared for this. On Saturday, June 22, Lucho’s Chief of Staff [Marianela Prada] publicly trashed me: “Evo is going to shorten [Arce’s] mandate, Evo is destroying Bolivia, etc.” On Monday night, June 24, the army commander (referring to Juan José Zúñiga) said that “Evo cannot be a candidate” and that, if I am, he would stop me. If Lucho (Luis Arce) had any strength, he would have discharged him the next day. But he has never disavowed his [subordinate]. I think that everything was premeditated and that General Zúñiga went ahead with the [operation].

Q. In November of 2019, upon arriving as a refugee in Mexico City, you fought, despite internal resistance, for Arce’s candidacy, because you considered him to be a loyal, skilled technocrat with the ability to reach urban sectors. What’s the reason behind your ongoing conflict with President Arce?

Q. We have ideological, policy, ethical and even organic differences. [For instance, regarding] the ideological ones: in March of last year, Lucho said that we shouldn’t be afraid of ideological pluralism. What was he telling us? He was saying not to be afraid of the right-wing elements within the MAS-IPSP (the Movement towards Socialism – Instrument for the Sovereignty of the People, Evo’s political movement). For me, there are no independents, or neutral folks, or those in the middle. We’re either for the poor, or for the rich.

Then, there are the policy differences. When he took office as president, Lucho eliminated the ministries of Energy, Sports, Communication and Culture. Cutting Culture? Cutting Energy? Please. I thought, at that very moment, that he could shift to the right… but I wasn’t sure. The recipe that he applied is the recipe of the World Bank and the IMF, to reduce the size of the state. Who will invest [in this scenario]? Only the transnationals. Lucho says that, in order to avoid inflation or fiscal deficits, there’s no need to invest… but this generates economic contraction.

What are the ethical issues? Well, in 2021, it was said that Arce’s son (Marcelo Arce Mosqueira, an engineer) was involved in the lithium business. [Arce] came to visit me here and I mentioned to him: “Mr. President, in Santa Cruz, there’s a lot of talk that your son is involved in [such-and-such activities]... that’s going to wear you down, it’s going to wear us down politically.” Arce got mad at me. He told me: “Don’t mess with my family ever again.” I also told him that there was corruption, that some of the military commanders were protecting drug-trafficking operations. Despite this, he did nothing in response.

In 2021, I organized the defense of Arce’s presidency and endured attacks for a long time. But on the first Sunday of September 2022, I said to myself: “Enough is enough.” If I hadn’t done that, the MAS-IPSP would be sunk, like [Arce] is sunk now.

MAS is divided between two camps: those who support Evo Morales — the movement’s historic leader — and those who support Arce. The incumbent president rarely gives interviews and often avoids even mentioning his former boss. What began in 2020 as an electoral strategy to secure the centrist vote became a guiding principle: ignoring Morales, no matter what. “He’s going to use everything, he’ll even question the failed coup for his personal political aspirations,” Arce affirmed, in a recent interview with EL PAÍS.

Morales has never been shy about criticizing Arce. He admitted that he was wrong to propose him as a candidate, calling him the worst president since the return to democracy in 1982. The internal divisions within MAS have been felt at all levels: in the legislature, in the labor unions and within the party’s structure. On May 5, 2024, the party held a summit, in which the pro-Arce majority excluded Morales from being part of the newly convened national leadership. Just a few months earlier, Morales had organized his own meeting of MAS members, which took place without any acrimony. He has vowed to fight the leadership of the party in the courts, although he will fall back on the pressure of mass demonstrations and blockades if the judicial path isn’t successful.

Q. Arce’s argument is that your rush to return to the presidency is affecting the governability of Bolivia.

A. When I returned from my exile in Argentina [in 2020], I said that, if Lucho did a good job, I would support him. When [my supporters] continued to insist, I said that I could return for the sake of justice. Now, I say that I have to return for a political reason.

In 2021, the government was already implementing [Arce’s] 2025-2030 governing plan. They developed a strategy with a map of what the politics of Bolivia were like, in which I’m on the left, while [Luis Fernando] Camacho (the former governor of Santa Cruz, currently detained and accused of participating in the 2019 coup d’état against Morales) and [former president Carlos] Mesa are on the right. And, in the middle, you see Lucho (Luis Arce). That’s the proof of the rightward shift. They talk about my hunger for power, that I’m desperate… but in 2021, they were already campaigning for the 2025 elections. They had a dark plan to destroy me. I showed Lucho this paper that I’m showing you now and he got upset.

The former president holds up the map to the computer’s camera, for EL PAÍS to see.

Q. The current administration doesn’t seem very willing to enable your candidacy. What options do you have if you cannot compete?

A. I don’t know… my calculation — and I may be wrong — is that, if they disqualify me, the people will rise up. This is discrimination against the largest political movement in Bolivian history.

Q. Is there no chance for negotiations? Can’t differences be resolved through an internal election?

A. I said that we should have primaries, but Lucho doesn’t want to. The poll from CELAG (the Latin American Strategic Center for Geopolitics) shows that I would win. [The government] wants to eliminate primaries. If there are no primaries, the only candidate would be Lucho.

Q. So how will things be resolved?

A. Hopefully, this will happen via an assembly. If not, it will be through mass action. [Arce’s administration] doesn’t have an economic plan to save Bolivia. Right now, we’re worse off than during neoliberal times. In 2005, the last year of the neoliberal government, we still had fuel, some U.S. dollars, international reserves, gold… but today, they’ve emptied the coffers. The only plan [Arce] has is about how to eliminate Evo’s candidacy, or how to change the acronym of MAS! That’s what the upcoming legal battle will be all about. I very much regret that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal is subordinated [to the government].

Q. Aren’t you afraid that this fight will enable a far-right candidate in Bolivia, as already happened in Argentina with Javier Milei?

A. The United States is now talking about recolonization: creating an “outsider” candidate for the 2025 elections to take over lithium resources.

Q. How much does your fight with Arce contribute to part of Bolivian society distancing itself from the Movement for Socialism?

A. The people know that this government is right-wing. People from the right even look to me — perhaps they’re repentant coup plotters — and tell me, “with you, there was stability and economic growth.”

Q. At the end of your last presidential term, you struggled to articulate a vision for the future. Do you have anything new to offer?

A. Today, we’re debating a new governing platform, with the input of the working class and the peasants. We also have businesspeople, merchants and truck drivers, who understand what’s happening in the economy and are fighting for a renewal. For the moment, however, I’m not launching my political program: we’re debating it politically, economically and socially.

Q. In 2006, when you were sworn in for the first time, you had very clear proposals regarding the nationalization of natural resources and the writing of a new Constitution. What would be the priorities of a new Evo Morales presidency?

A. The thesis of the [MAS-IPSP] congress last year was to salvage the revolution, so that we can save Bolivia. Many people from the working class tell me, “Evo, you saved Bolivia.” But I didn’t save Bolivia: the political instrument and the vote of the united people have saved Bolivia.

Translated by Avik Jain Chatlani

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