Bolivia Wrestles With 'the Weirdest Coup Attempt'

Real or fake, one expert says the nation's democracy remains fragile
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 27, 2024 5:20 PM CDT
Bolivia Wrestles With 'the Weirdest Coup Attempt'
Supporters of Bolivian President Luis Arce demonstrate against the now-ousted Bolivian army chief, who appeared to lead soldiers to storm the presidential palace, outside police offices in La Paz on Thursday. The signs read in Spanish, left, "No to the coup. Respect democracy!" and "Yes to democracy!...   (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Supporters of Bolivia's president rallied outside his palace in La Paz on Thursday, giving political breathing room to the embattled leader as authorities made more arrests in what he called a failed coup a day earlier. The government announced that 17 people had been arrested, including the army chief, Gen. Juan José Zuniga, and former navy Vice Adm. Juan Arnez Salvador, the AP reports. The South American nation of 12 million watched in shock and bewilderment Wednesday as military forces appeared to turn on the government of President Luis Arce, seizing control of the capital's main square with armored vehicles, repeatedly crashing a small tank into the presidential palace, and unleashing tear gas on protesters.

Before his arrest Wednesday, Zuniga alleged without providing evidence that Arce had ordered him to carry out the coup attempt in a ruse to boost the president's popularity. That fueled speculation about what really happened. Opposition senators and government critics joined the chorus, calling the mutiny a "self-coup"—a claim strongly denied by Arce's government. Some Bolivians said they believed the general's allegations. "They are playing with the intelligence of the people, because nobody believes that it was a real coup," said 48-year-old lawyer Evaristo Mamani. Lawmakers and former officials echoed the allegations. "This has been a setup," said Carlos Romero. "Zuniga followed the script as he was ordered."

The apparent rebellion passed bloodlessly at the end of the business day, per the AP. In an extraordinary scene, Arce argued viciously with Zuniga and his allies face-to-face in the plaza outside the palace before returning inside to name a new army commander. Speaking in Paraguay on Thursday, Rich Verma, a US deputy secretary of state, said that "democracy remains fragile in our hemisphere." Political experts are among those trying to make sense of the situation. "This is the weirdest coup attempt I have ever seen," said Kathryn Ledebur of the Andean Information Network, a Bolivia-based research group. She said the country's democracy is "definitely a great deal more fragile today than it was yesterday."

(More Bolivia stories.)

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