2023-06-20 09:31:55
The fight between Evo Morales and his dolphin, the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, has escalated in recent days. The leadership of the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) accuses the president of “treason” and could expel him. In this way, “evistas” and “archists” or “renovators” have increased an old political divorce that now has as its culmination the next presidential elections of 2025.
In this power struggle there are not only two heads, Evo Morales and Luis Arce, as there is a third figure in conflict, who is the country’s vice president David Choquehuanca, a former minister of the Aymara leader who is today a loyal ally of the president.
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Luis Arce was the most prominent Minister of Economy under Evo Morales and father of the “economic miracle” in Bolivia. For the 2020 presidential elections, he was imposed as the MAS candidate by Morales himself, who was in exile. Along with David Choquehuanca, he campaigned under the slogan “Lucho and David, one heart.”
The then President of Bolivia, Evo Morales (left), and the Minister of Economy, Luis Arce Catacora, during a bond launching ceremony for USD 500 million on October 23, 2012. (Photo by AIZAR RALDES / AFP).
But after Arce’s victory, his relationship with Evo Morales deteriorated rapidly. He did not mention his mentor in his inauguration speech, nor did he bring his collaborators to his cabinet. In addition, Morales could not intervene in the first decisions of the new government. Thus began a silent fight that has escalated over the years.
In 2021, the MAS “evistas” recommended that President Arce make changes among his officials, but he ignored them.
Then, the “evistas” began to denounce corruption within the Government.
Now the fight is over who will be the MAS candidate for the next 2025 presidential elections: the leaders do not want Luis Arce to run for re-election and instead seek to support the candidacy of Evo Morales.
Bolivian President Luis Arce and former President Evo Morales, wearing garlands of flowers and coca leaves, speak during a political meeting to mark the 28th anniversary of MAS, on March 26, 2023. (Photo by Aizar RALDES / AFP).
Arce, “the worst enemy of MAS”
Last week the break deepened. On Tuesday, the national leadership of the MAS accused Luis Arce of “betraying” the party and said that he has become its “worst enemy.” In addition, he told him to seek his re-election outside the MAS.
It was not the only thing. The vice president of the MAS, Gerardo García, said that the leaders and militants regret “having chosen” Arce “as president of the State.”
“We have seen that now he has betrayed us, it is the worst. Betrayal is what hurts the most (…) Instead of us making a government effort, they continue to say that they are from the MAS, but they are acting in a different way, they have tried and are trying to create their own political structure,” he lamented. Garcia.
The MAS prohibited
party members who are also government officials to participate in their congresses, including the national congress where the strategy to elect the next presidential candidate will be established.
According to García, when Arce was sworn in in November 2020, he told him that it would be “for the only time”, but now “he is more interested in ratifying himself” and “the worst thing is that corruption is rampant, drug trafficking is rampant and He doesn’t say anything about that.”
The leader announced that a possible ignorance, suspension or expulsion of Luis Arce from the party should be dealt with in an upcoming MAS national congress.
For his part, “evista” senator Leonardo Loza remarked that “the next MAS candidate for the 2025 elections is Evo Morales. He added that “renovators” or “archists” are “synonymous with the right.”
Photograph of an image of former President Evo Morales during a press conference in La Paz of the MAS leadership. (EFE / Luis Gandarillas).
“You have to take care of Lucho Arce”
On Sunday, Evo Morales asked MAS to “take care” of Luis Arce and told his government to organize an attack against him “with the right and the empire.”
“I repeat, you have to take care of Lucho Arce, I ask the healthy and honest leaders who are not prebendal” because “he follows them up” to “make some setup,” Morales said the Kawsachun Coca station.
Evo Morales maintained that he is “concerned” that now “our government” seeks to carry out an attack to link it to drug trafficking cases.
He accused the Ministry of the Presidency and the Vice Ministry of Communication of preparing a video to tell “lies”.
Morales said that the government divides the MAS “as the neoliberal governments did.” He added that there is a “dirty campaign” where “some perks” are used to deliver them to some leaders and that they join the block of the “renovators.”
“Who is the head of the renovators, Lucho (Arce) and (Vice President) David (Choquehuanca)” and “they are trying to outlaw the MAS and now they say we are from the MAS,” Morales continued.
The day before, on Saturday, Evo Morales met with the federations of coca leaf producers from the Cochabamba tropics, his main political stronghold.
At that meeting, the MAS leaders present agreed to “hire security guards” to protect Morales, because, they assured, “the right wing could attempt against his life” and for this they asked for a “voluntary” contribution from the militants, the agency reported. EFE.
Bolivian President Luis Arce delivers a speech during celebrations for International Workers’ Day, May 1, 2023. (Photo by JORGE BERNAL / AFP).
The “archists” say that the enemy is “the fascist right”
Also on Saturday, while Evo Morales was in Cochabamba, Luis Arce met in La Paz with his ministers, deputy ministers, and various “archist” legislators to plan his administration. According to the EFE news agency, a statement emerged from that meeting in which they ratified their “militancy” in the MAS, together with “our revolutionary, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, anti-colonial and anti-patriarchal ideological principles” with the “unity” of the popular movement.” .
The “archists” “forcefully” rejected any “internal and external destabilization” attempt. They recalled that “the main enemy” is not in the ranks of the MAS” but in the “fascist right”.
While the Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada, explained that the meeting discussed issues of management, communication, allegations of corruption and drug trafficking, as well as “ideological reaffirmation.”
“We will not allow that, with political desires, they try to label us all as guilty for crimes that are personal,” said Minister Prada.
Days before, Minister María Nela Prada had said that the MAS accusations against Arce and Choquehuanca had the sole purpose of preparing the ground for the expulsion of both.
“All these types of accusations, attacks, unfounded lies about our president, are setting a stage to expel our president Lucho Arce, our vice president David Choquehuanca from the ranks of our political instrument,” he said.
Arce’s followers maintain that they do not have deep ideological differences with the “evistas” and that the only thing that separates both sides is Evo Morales’s ambition to return to power, according to a newspaper report The country.
As for Arce, the president has warned several times that a conspiracy is underway against him, which involves dividing the social forces that support them.
“El País” points out that Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca are building their own network of adherents in the unions that form the backbone of MAS. On this matter, the “evism” accuses the Government of buying loyalty through the delivery of public jobs.
For his part, Álvaro García Linera, who was vice president of Evo Morales and is considered the main intellectual of the MAS, is seeking an agreement that saves the unity of the Bolivian left. He argues that, divided, the indigenous movement will lose the next elections and will not regain power for “a long time,” according to “El País.”
The fight between Evo Morales and Luis Arce. (AFP).
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