Socialist President of Bolivia Luis Arce announced on Tuesday he will not run for reelection on August 17 general elections.
Bolivia, ruled by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party for almost 20 years, is experiencing a years-long leftist power struggle between Arce and his predecessor and former mentor, socialist former President Evo Morales. Morales attempted to install himself as dictator and is currently a fugitive, suspected on charges of pedophilia. The South American nation is also facing a dire economic situation marked by soaring inflation and shortages of foreign currency and fuel that Arce’s socialist policies have failed to overturn.
Arce and Morales’s power struggle, in addition to worsening Bolivia’s precarious economic situation, has effectively fractured MAS. Morales remains “bunkered” in the central region of Cochabamba since late 2024, avoiding an arrest warrant on charges of pedophilia and statutory rape committed over the course of his presidency.
Although he is constitutionally term-limited, Morales insists on running for president in August for a fifth time. Morales ruled Bolivia between 2005 and 2019, when he resigned voluntarily after using dubious legal loopholes to bypass the two-term limit established by the Bolivian constitution, then failing to prove his “re-election” was legitimate.
Bolivia’s Constitutional Court unanimously issued a ruling on Wednesday ratifying that Morales is unable to run for president of Bolivia ever again. Morales’ lawyers immediately responded by claiming that they “do not care” what the Court says or not. Morales loyalists have previously threatened to prevent the upcoming August election from happening if Morales is not allowed to run.
In addition to the current and former presidents, the head of the Bolivian Senate Andrónico Rodríguez announced his independent presidential candidacy this week. Rodríguez, 36, is widely described a younger “apprentice” and “heir” of Morales, who he has allegedly attempted to distance himself from.
Arce addressed Bolivians on Tuesday and formally announced that he will not seek reelection in the August 17 elections. He urged the fractured Bolivian left and MAS to unite by choosing a candidate “who has the best profile to confront the right” to represent the ruling party on August 17.
“I make known to the Bolivian people my decision to decline my candidacy for reelection, I will not be a factor of division of the popular vote and benefit a right-wing project that wants to destroy the democratic revolution,” Arce said.
Arce called upon Morales to step down and desist from seeking reelection, stressing that he constitutionally is unable to do so and arguing that “vote fragmentation would only serve the right.” Arce also called on Senator Rodríguez to join his efforts to seek a unified leftist candidate.
“Either we defend our Plurinational State and its popular conquests or we facilitate the return of the right wing to the Government,” Arce said. “The main enemy is imperialism, it is the fascist right wing, which applauds our divisions.”
Morales responded to Arce’s message in a social media message in which he claimed that “only the people can ask me to decline my candidacy.”
“We will never renounce our revolutionary consciousness. With the strength of the people, we remain standing,” Morales said. “Once again, we call on our brothers and sisters who have left us to return to our families, to the cradle of the true revolution, so that, together and united, we may triumph at the polls and rebuild our destroyed homeland.”
Similarly, Senator Andrónico Rodríguez responded to Arce’s message on social media, affirming his commitment to a “true and transparent unity, built in the face of the people and not through dark pacts or agreements behind the people’s backs.”
“In this context, we will maintain our political consistency and coherence, making a sincere call for the unity of the popular national bloc,” Rodríguez said. “Appealing primarily to our organizations and social sectors, rather than to a political leadership that has lost connection with the grassroots.”
Bolivian businessman Samuel Doria Medina is reportedly slated to present his presidential candidacy and running mate on Wednesday leading the “Unity Alliance,” a coalition of anti-MAS opposition parties led by Medina and governor of Santa Cruz Luis Fernando Camacho. Camacho is presently imprisoned alongside former President Jeanine Áñez for allegedly plotting a “coup” against Morales in 2019 even though Morales voluntarily resigned and fled the country after evidence of rampant fraud was found in his unconstitutional fourth electoral victory.
“We have to be calm, but active. Even if part of MAS regroups, it will not win. It will continue to be responsible for the crisis and the failure we are experiencing. Most of the people have already abandoned him,” Medina said when asked for comment on Arce’s announcement.
“We are going to win this election. Only those of us who have criticized the failed economic model throughout its 20-year existence have the morale, the knowledge and the plan to change it. We will lay the foundations for transformation in 100 days.”
The candidate registration period for Bolivia’s general elections began Wednesday morning and will run through Monday, May 19. Bolivian Electoral authorities will review the applications and present a list of eligible candidates on June 6.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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