Bolivia’s former president, Evo Morales, has issued a warning to his country that there will be a “convulsion” if his presidential candidacy for the 2025 elections is disqualified. In an interview with the EFE agency, Morales stated that if he is disqualified, there will be consequences and any resulting turmoil would be the responsibility of the government.
Morales believes that the only way to win this struggle is through mass action and has heard that various sectors anticipate difficulties if his candidacy is annulled. The possibility of disqualifying his candidacy arose after a ruling by the Constitutional Court last year, which stated that indefinite reelection is not a human right and can only be applied once, continuously or discontinuously. Morales maintains that he is legally and constitutionally enabled to be a candidate, as confirmed by consultations with national and international experts.
The ruling party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), celebrates its 29th anniversary with two separate events this year. The ‘arcista’ bloc, supporting President Luis Arce, celebrated in La Paz, while the ‘evista’ wing, aligned with Morales, will hold a celebration in YapacanÃ. Tensions between the two factions were evident at the party’s anniversary event last year, with Morales questioning the government’s achievements and Arce advocating for pluralism of ideas within the MAS.
Morales criticized the Arce administration for not fulfilling mandates to hold coup plotters accountable in the aftermath of the 2019 crisis that led to Morales’s resignation and exile. He condemns what he sees as a deviation from the party’s anti-imperialist tradition and accuses the government of offering bribes to officials to distance themselves from the MAS. The rift within