In his first public appearance after being left without a political party, Evo Morales was on his radio program surrounded by coca leaders and senators Andrónico Rodríguez and Leonardo Lozawho called for “unity” around the leadership of the former president who stated “unionally we are not going to give up nor are we going to sell out.”
For Friday, the coca grower has summoned leaders from social sectors and former authorities to define the actions that will follow. “We are aware of the attempts to fragment the indigenous and popular peasant movement, but, from the Tropic of Cochabamba, we seek to become an example of unity and resistance“Morales wrote on his social networks.
On Thursday, a room in Bolivia’s Constitutional Court removed the leadership of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS) and has recognized in his place Grover García, a leader allied with Luis Arce, who had been proclaimed by a faction of the party in an act observed for non-compliance with the established requirements.
This judicial resolution closes one of the disputes on which it was held the fight between Morales and his former dolphin, both They were fighting for control of the party and the presidential candidacy for 2025.
The coca grower leader also faces a series of legal processes that his entourage considers a campaign of lawfare to eliminate him from the political scene through the manipulation of justice. In the last hours, The Minister of Government, Eduardo Del Castillo, announced that a criminal complaint will be filed for denial of assistanceafter the alleged incident that occurred in Chapare (Cochabamba) in which the former president’s entourage ran over a police officer and shot at the law enforcement forces, which would have led to the subsequent chase and shooting of his vehicle.
“Mr. Morales already gave his informative statement within the criminal process, telling his version and omitting that they shot at the Bolivian Police and that they ran over an agent. Minimally, “He is going to be prosecuted for failure to provide assistance, knowing that one of his bodyguards or he, while inside the vehicle, avoided providing the corresponding assistance.”Del Castillo stated at a press conference.
Added to this complaint are others opened since the end of September, when Morales intensified his protests through a march and a prolonged road blockade. The most advanced case has to do with the alleged sexual abuse of a minor when he was president, for which he had an arrest warrant that became void after judicial action.
The siege is also closed against leaders close to Morales. Humberto Claros and Ramiro Cuchi, two of the farmers who coordinated the blockades against the Government, were arrested accused of the crimes of terrorism and armed uprising. There are also arrest warrants against Ponciano Santosa leader close to Morales and the former Minister of the Presidency, Juan Ramon Quintanawho from clandestinity warned that he will not be an “easy target” and asked the population to remain in the fight against the “abuse of power” of the Luis Arce government.
“The arrests of leaders of social organizations continue in Bolivia with the logic of criminalizing social protest. These actions lay a red carpet for the right and aim to destroy the popular blocwhich transformed Bolivia in recent decades,” he wrote Gabriela Montaño, former parliamentarian and one of the figures closest to Morales.
The former president, surrounded by criminal accusations and with little chance of participating in the 2025 elections, remains refugee in the coca-growing area of the center of the country supported by his followers where he hopes to gather his allies on Friday to define the immediate future of “evismo” in the new political scenario.
