PEACE – The party congress called by the followers of Luis Arce could mark the beginning of the end for Evo Morales in the ruling party of Bolivia, the Movement towards Socialism (MAS), which dominated for more than three decades.
With the support of the majority of unions and social organizations related to the government of its former ally, the congress intends to elect a successor for Morales, leaving him in a vulnerable position and without the possibility of running in the next presidential elections in 2025.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal had already declared the previous congress that re-elected Morales as head of the MAS illegal, and the new congress lacks legal backing. This leaves Morales without political legitimacy.
“Internal dispute”
From his base of support among coca growers, Morales has openly criticized Arce, accusing him of destroying the economy and undermining democracy. Additionally, he has threatened protests against key government figures, including the former economy minister.
For Arce, the Morales faction seeks to destabilize his government for personal ambitions.
The internal conflict in the MAS has left the government in a precarious position, facing economic difficulties and accusations of corruption. The shortage of dollars in the market and the rising cost of living are exacerbating the crisis.
However, beyond the internal crisis in the ruling party, some analysts see this moment as the exhaustion of the populist model embodied by Morales since 2006.
Disqualification
At the beginning of this year, the Plurinational Constitutional Court of Bolivia annulled the power of indefinite re-election in a ruling that disqualified Evo Morales from running for president, for having served for three continuous terms between 2006 and 2019.
The ruling, which broadly stipulates that indefinite reelection “is not a human right,” was issued following an advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), without the possibility of appeal, and annuls a ruling issued by the same Constitutional Court in 2017.
The ruling specified that a president, vice president, deputies or senators cannot serve more than two terms, either continuously or discontinuously. The opinion also includes governors and mayors who have been elected since the entry into force of the current constitutional text, that is, the year 2009.
Without legal support
The Supreme Electoral Court declared illegal the congress that re-elected him as head of the MAS last year and the new congress that the former president called for June has no legal backing.
“We made a mistake with Lucho (Arce). He destroyed the economy and is destroying democracy. At this rate, with the support of judges, he is going to extend his position. Any conflict that arises will be his responsibility,” Morales said on Friday from a coca growers radio station whose union he has led for four decades. He in turn threatened to call for protests against whoever was the Minister of Economy during his presidency (2006-2019).
For Arce, the Morales faction represents the “new right” that has joined the “traditional right” to destabilize his government “due to the ambitions of a single person (Morales) who only seeks to satisfy his thirst for power,” said the president on Wednesday at the Labor Day march.
“Arce does not want to be head of the party, he is interested in being a MAS candidate and Morales is reaping what he has sown, that is, a corrupt justice system submitted to power,” said political analyst Paul Coca.
Arce has told his supporters that “social movements have no owner,” while Morales’ followers brand Arce a “traitor.”
The divorce in the ruling party began more than two years ago and left the Arce faction in the minority in the Legislative Assembly. Morales’ followers have blocked the approval of new credits and the government attributes the worsening of the economic crisis to this legislative blockade.
Arce faces a difficult economic moment, criticism for alleged corruption and accusations of alleged collusion with judges. The drop in export income is exacerbating the shortage of dollars in the market and the cost of living has risen, according to various studies.
More than an internal crisis in the ruling party, we are facing an exhaustion of the populist model that Morales embodied in 2006 after the collapse of the traditional parties, said analyst and university professor Roger Cortez.
Meanwhile, internal divisions and trials promoted by the government due to the 2019 crisis — which led to Morales’ resignation — have reduced the political strength of the divided center and right-wing opposition, according to experts.
Source: With information from AP/DLA Editorial
