Miami, United States. – The Bolivian President Evo Morales (2006–2019) announced for the second time his intention to compete in the general elections of August 17, although he has not yet revealed with which political party he will apply. “For security reasons I do not want to tell you about the acronym, but the acronym is guaranteed to participate in these elections,” said the ex -president during a concentration this Saturday in Entre Ríos, in the tropics of Cochabamba, according to The EFE Agency report.
The proclamation took place in its traditional political and trade union bastion, where hundreds of followers congregated to support it. Morales said: “We are convinced that we are going to win the elections this year, so they are so afraid, so much anger, so many defamations (…). United we are invincible, unattainable mobilized.”
Despite the support of its Cocalera base, Morales faces significant obstacles. The Prosecutor’s Office of Bolivia maintains an arrest warrant against Since October for an accusation of aggravated trafficking of people. He is told to have maintained a relationship with a minor, with whom he allegedly had a son in 2016, when he was still occupied. However, the police have not yet executed the order, and since November 2023, the ex -president remains in the tropics of Cochabamba, protected by vigils of their supporters.
In addition to judicial causes, Morales faces a fragmented political environment. After losing the leadership of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), he founded his own group, “Evo Pueblo”, and signed an agreement with the Front for Victory (FPV), which dissolved weeks ago. Now, the former president continues without a defined party.
In its Sunday radio program in Kawsachun Coca, Morales accused his adversaries of receiving international advice. “The Lucho (Arce) has advisors from Brazil, also (Samuel) Doria Medina, almost all have support groups, to do program, foreigners, almost everyone has. We never did that,” he said. He also said that former president Jorge Tuto Quiroga is advised by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.
Morales stressed that their government programs were always built with social bases. “We elaborate our government programs with the people,” he said, and recalled his initiative “Bolivia changes, Evo meets” as a direct response to the needs of the mayorships.
The concentration of Entre Ríos had a remarkable absence: that of the president of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, leader of the Federation Mamoré Bulo Bulo. Although close to Morales, Rodríguez has been promoted by some sectors as a possible alternative presidential letter, generating criticism from the followers of the ex -president, who insist that he is “the only” legitimate candidate.
The Bolivian ruling continues divided since the crisis of 2019, which culminated in the resignation of Morales and its subsequent exile in Mexico and Argentina. At present, the most is directed by Grover García, aligned with the current president Luis Arce, whose distancing from Morales was accentuated since 2021 due to differences on the driving of the party and the candidacies.
Meanwhile, the most will announce on May 3 the binomial with which it will participate in the August elections. Luis Arce appears as the favorite within the bases of the party.
In the opposition, the Unit Alliance will present the businessman Samuel Doria Medina as his candidate, while Quiroga will do so for the Free Alliance. Both were previously united in unity, but Quiroga turned away after disagreements on internal surveys that favored Doria Medina.
Despite judicial investigations and fragmented political climate, Morales insists on his return. “My followers not only support me, but they defend the cultural democratic revolution to tell Bolivia and the world that the right will not return,” he said.
