Bolivia – right-wing coup attempt foiled, stand with democracy, social progress & self-determination
By Matt Willgress, Friends of Bolivia
By Thursday morning British time, Bolivia's President Luis Arce's government and the social movements of the country appear to have defeated a right-wing, anti-democratic coup attempt in which heavily armed troops, led by an army general, Gen. Juan José Zúñiga, stormed the governmental palace, and seized control of a main La Paz square.
In response to these developments, Arce had called on Bolivia to take to the streets to defend the country's democracy from the anti-democratic coup attempt, and was joined in this call by the country's social movements, trade unions and others.
"We need the Bolivian people to mobilise and organise themselves against this coup d'état and in favour of democracy," Arce said in a video message alongside his ministers, who shouted "Long live the people of Bolivia! Long live democracy!"
Celinda Sosa Lunda, the Foreign Minister, said “The Plurinational State of Bolivia denounces before the international community the irregular mobilization of some units of the Bolivian Army that threaten democracy, peace and security of the country. We call on the international community and the Bolivian population to respect democratic values and support the government of brother President Luis Arce Catacora, constitutional and legitimately elected by the sovereign will of the Bolivian people.”
Former president Evo Morales, who remains deeply popular in Bolivia and is an icon of left and anti-imperialist movements the world over, called on all supporters to take to the streets and block roads, saying “We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate the people.”
The people of Bolivia’s calls for support were heeded internationally, including from Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace & Justice Project here in Britain, who said “We condemn the attempted coup in Bolivia and send our solidarity to president and his democratically elected government.”
Also in Europe, Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, posted that "Spain strongly condemns the military movements in Bolivia."
Latin America's leaders and social movements spoke out strongly, with Mexican President-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, condemning the "attack against democracy" and giving " unconditional support to President Luís Arce and his people."
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said "I want democracy to prevail in Latin America. Coups have never worked out" and the Government condemned the coup attempt.
Honduras' President Xiomara Castro condemned the coup and expressed unconditional support to President Arce and Evo Morales.
Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, urged Bolivians "to defend their democracy, their constitution and their president," and highlighted the danger of a right-wing coup in his country. His comments were added to by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who said Venezuela condemns "categorically any fascist and anti-democratic act that seeks to disturb the peace and alter the order of the Bolivian people".
By late afternoon Arce had named a new military high command and the troops and tanks were withdrawing from Plaza Murillo, in what (at least for now) was a victory for the Bolivian people. For socialist activists here and across the world it should also act as a stark reminder of why we must continue to give priority to building solidarity with Latin America's left, which has had strong electoral victories in countries such as Mexico recently, and remains a vital reference point for anti-capitalists and anti-imperialists across the globe.
- You can follow Friends of Bolivia at https://x.com/boliviafriends and https://www.facebook.com/BoliviaFriends/
- You can follow Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America at https://www.facebook.com/LabourFriendsofProgressiveLatinAmerica/ and https://x.com/labourfplam
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