Supporters of Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales hold 200 soldiers hostage – JURIST

Supporters of Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales took more than 200 soldiers hostage on Saturday. The Bolivian Foreign Ministry reported that they occupied three military facilities in the province of Chapare during protests on Friday and accused them of possessing weapons and ammunition. 30 police officers are reportedly injured and more than 50 protesters were arrested last week.

The protests have been reportedly ongoing for weeks since when Bolivian prosecutors started an investigation into Morales’ alleged statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl in 2016 and his refusal to testify in court. Since the reports of a possible warrant of his arrest, Morales has been hiding in the rural area of Chapare in central Bolivia. His supporters have demanded the closure of the judicial cases against him and threatened to take over police and military barracks in case they attempt to arrest him.

Bolivia’s Foreign Ministry published a statement labeling the protest groups as members of “irregular groups.” It stated that the government is willing to open dialogue with all social sectors of the country but addressed the difficulty in establishing the process due to the group’s ongoing abuse.

The ruling President, Luis Arce condemned this incident as “an absolutely reprehensible criminal act that is far from any legitimate social claim of the Indigenous peasant movement.” 

The Minister of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo’s statement at the press conference earlier in September indicated that the motive behind Morales’ supporters is for his “personal political interest” to achieve his candidacy for the next presidential elections in 2025. Morales first took power in 2006 and had to flee the country after protests following his attempt to bypass the constitution and seek a fourth term in office in 2019. Bolivia’s Constitutional Court in 2021 has disqualified Morales from running for re-election based on the advisory opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that prohibits indefinite presidential re-election. This reversed Bolivia’s Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2017, allowing him to seek a fourth term in 2019.

Under Article 156 of Bolivia’s Constitution and the court’s decision, no president can serve more than two terms.