From Military Coup to Presidential Candidacy: The Ongoing Conflict between Evo Morales and Masi General Juan Jose Zuniga

On June 26th around 2:00 p.m., the former commander general of the Army Juan Jose Zuniga led hundreds of soldiers and several tankettes to break into the Murillo Square of La Paz, where the headquarters of the Executive and Legislative Powers are located. Zuniga stated that he sought to “change the government cabinet”, “restore” democracy, and release “political prisoners”. This action came after he had been dismissed by Arce the day before for making unauthorized statements to the media. The military chief had threatened Evo Morales, stating that he would capture him if he persisted in his intention to run in the 2025 elections as a presidential candidate.

During the incursion, images circulated worldwide of an armored car forcing open a door to the presidential palace. President Arce confronted Zuniga and ordered him to retreat before swearing in a new military leadership. Zuniga and the soldiers eventually evacuated the Murillo Square and Zuniga was later arrested and sentenced to six months of preventive detention.

Following the events, Morales accused Arce of orchestrating a “self-coup” to improve his popularity. Arce denied these allegations, leading to a public dispute between the two political figures. The situation escalated as Morales announced plans for a new congress of his party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), in which he intended to proclaim himself a presidential candidate for the 2025 elections.

The ongoing conflict between Morales and Arce is expected to result in turbulence in Bolivia leading up to