A Bolivian constitutional court prevented the indigenous leader Evo Morales run again as a presidential candidate, opening a new phase in the prolonged political crisis that the South American country is going through.
Morales, who was president of Bolivia Between 2006 and 2019, he has been seeking to lead the candidacy of his Movement towards Socialism (MAS) party in next year’s presidential elections, a position for which the current president Luis Arce also aspires.
But, in a decision made last week but released on Friday, the constitutional court of Bolivia He said that presidents in the country could not have more than two terms, whether consecutive or spaced in time.
After serving two presidential terms, a court allowed Morales to have a third term because his first presidency came before a constitutional reform.
The politician with origins in Bolivia’s coca union movement ran for a fourth term in 2019, but then fled the country after accusations of fraud and an eruption of violence, which Morales denounced as a coup d’état. Luis Arce was later elected in 2020.
“Without a doubt this gives a new cycle to politics in Bolivia,” opposition deputy Marcelo Pedrazas, from Comunidad Ciudadana (CC), told reporters on Friday. “We will have an election in 2025 for the first time without Evo Morales on the ballot.”
Morales’ lawyer, Orlando Ceballos, accused the ruling of being politically motivated.
“Where are they aiming? To ban the MAS, to disqualify Evo, that is the objective,” Ceballos said in an interview with local radio, adding that they would take the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Morales and Arce, former political allies, have been increasingly confronting in recent weeks, with Morales supporters carrying out roadblocks and seizures of military bases.
Morales has called for dialogue with the Government, but went on a hunger strike for almost a week in protest of what he considers political persecution by Arce.
