Rebel Bolivian soldiers occupied a square in front of the presidential palace in La Paz on Wednesday 26 June. “Democracy must be respected,” argued Bolivian President Luis Arce.
Rebel Bolivian soldiers accused by President Luis Arce of leading a “coup” retreated on Wednesday (June 26) from the position they occupied in armored vehicles in front of the presidential palace in La Paz. By early afternoon, army units had advanced through the streets in close ranks to Murillo Square, in front of the presidential headquarters, where a tank and other armored vehicles were located.
Luis Arce then condemned on the social network X “the irregular movements of certain units of the Bolivian army”. “Democracy must be respected,” he said.
“We need the Bolivian people to organize”
An armored vehicle tried to break down a metal door to the Palacio Quemado, the seat of the presidency, and the army chief, General Juan José Zúñiga, briefly entered the palace. The senior officer said the military intended to “restructure democracy” in Bolivia.
“The armed forces are trying to restructure democracy, to make it a real democracy, not for a few gentlemen who have ruled the country for 30 or 40 years,” he declared in front of the palace, surrounded. of soldiers.
In a video message to the nation together with government ministers, Luis Arce launched a call for mobilization. “We need the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup in favor of democracy,” he said.
Luis Arce dismissed the rebel general and swore in a new command of the armed forces, according to images broadcast live on national television.
“Soldiers and tanks are deployed in Murillo Square”
Former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) also confirmed that “a coup d’état is being prepared”. “Soldiers and tanks are deployed in Murillo Square,” he wrote, calling “for a national mobilization to defend democracy.”
The situation in Bolivia has been condemned by most South American countries. The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, declared that “no form of violation of the constitutional order will be tolerated” in Bolivia and expressed his “solidarity with President Luis Arce” from Asuncion, where the General Assembly of the organization held until Friday.
For his part, Honduran President Xiomara Castro, current president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), called on the group’s member states to “condemn the fascism which today attacks democracy in Bolivia and to demand full respect for civil power and the constitution .
In Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for “respect for democracy and the rule of law” in Bolivia. The US said it was monitoring the situation “closely” and called for calm, according to a White House spokesman.
