Luis Arce, president of Bolivia, faced this Wednesday (26) an alleged coup attempt led by a group of military personnel, an action that was later seen as a “self-coup” by the president to increase his popularity.
The military mobilization, which some analysts described as a “rehearsed move”, comes at a critical time for the South American country, marked by an economic crisis, fuel and dollar shortages, as well as a series of political disputes between former allies, Arce and former president Evo Morales, both left-wing.
This month, a group of traders gathered in a demonstration to complain about the lack of resources in the country, a problem that, according to them, is not receiving due attention from the federal government.
“We demand that the government provide a definitive solution to the economic crisis we are experiencing due to the lack of dollars and fuel,” said the main leader of Bolivia’s commercial sector, César González, in interviews with local newspapers.
Since the beginning of last year, Bolivia has been immersed in a serious crisis in the economic sector, which was worsened by the lack of dollars circulating in the country and the drastic reduction in international reserves.
According to data from the Central Bank, taking the month of April as a reference, the amount of dollars reached 1,796 million, slightly more than the 1,709 million existing at the end of last year.
Given the scenario, Luis Arce’s government took some decisions to try to contain the spread of the crisis, such as the direct sale of dollars through the Bolivian Central Bank, released exports and incentives to reduce spending on fuel imports, attempted an agreement with businesspeople, but none of the initiatives were successful.
On the contrary, the actions only sank the country even further: access to fuel became even more scarce, the same happened with other basic consumer products, due to the lack of money to pay suppliers, for example, of fertilizers, an essential sector for the internal production.
As the crisis worsened, the Arce government also ordered border control operations in order to prevent smuggling in some cities close to Argentina.
Trying to dodge the protests against his management, the Bolivian president held an event with union members, claiming that the price increase is an act organized by the “capitalist system”.
Amid the country’s catastrophic situation, Arce still faces a strong political dispute with his former ally and former president Evo Morales, who is seeking re-election to office in next year’s elections.
In March, Morales challenged President Luis Arce, both from the Movement for Socialism (MAS), to submit to closed primary elections to define the party’s candidate for the 2025 presidential elections, amid growing tensions between the sides.
In an interview with EFE AgencyOn that occasion, Evo Morales stated that there would be a “social upheaval” in Bolivia if he were disqualified from next year’s elections.
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