Bolivia: the coup did not fail; it is still being prepared

Regardless of what happens in the American elections, Latin America will be in the eye of the storm from now on.

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What happened on June 26th in Bolivia was not yet a coup d’état. It was a failed putsch given by the commander of the Armed Forces, Juan José Zuñiga, in an improvised manner, believing that it would be supported by the other coup officers.

But Zuñiga got ahead of himself.

He had declared, two days earlier, in an interview, that he would not accept a new candidacy from Evo Morales for president of the Republic. As the statement caused enormous controversy, President Luis Arce announced that Zuñiga would be dismissed. So, the military anticipated, organized a group from the Challapata Special Regiment “Mendez Arcos” and tried to invade the Government Palace.

But no one else accompanied him. No barracks were raised, anywhere in the country. However, contrary to what one might think, the police did not play a leading role in containing the putsch. Although she also did not join Zuñiga’s adventure, she is even more reactionary than the army and was at the forefront of the 2019 coup.

Evo and Arce himself called on the people to mobilize against the coup attempt. Hundreds of people expelled Zuñiga’s military from Murillo Square, demonstrating combativeness as they had done in thousands in 2019.

But it was less popular mobilization and more the lack of initiative from the military that led to the failure of the Zuñiga putsch.

Bolivia is experiencing a strong political crisis, both among the right and among the MAS. Those who could be considered the main leaders of the right – the former coup-president Jeanine Añez, who took office after the 2019 coup, and one of the main authors of that coup, the extremist Luis Fernando Camacho – are in jail.

One of the objectives announced by Zuñiga was to release Añez and Camacho, perhaps precisely so that they could unify the coup right-wing. The most worrying thing is that, in the absence of political leaders, the military itself seeks to lead the coup – as Zuñiga tried to do.

Contrary to what was done by Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, the MAS was unable to purge the coup officers from the armed forces. There was no purge at any time, neither during the Evo governments nor under Arce. Thus, the Bolivian armed forces are highly reactionary and linked to American imperialism. CIA agents are deeply infiltrated within the Bolivian military.

If, on the one hand, the other officials did not follow Zuñiga, and the OAS – which had sponsored the 2019 coup – this time condemned the putsch, the stance of the United States government is revealing. While the entire world rejected the coup, the American government only stated that it was monitoring the situation and asked for calm and moderation. This is a clear sign that the U.S. is involved in organizing a coup in Bolivia.

It appears that Bolivian officials let Zuñiga burn himself to test the chances of a real coup being successful. As commander of the armed forces, Zuñiga knew that other officers have serious coup inclinations and that is why he made the attempt, otherwise he would not have been so bold.

The crisis on the left is even greater than that on the right. The MAS and popular movements are deeply divided between the Evo and Arce wings. In recent years, Morales has shown signs of capitulation by handing over Cesare Battisti to Bolsonaro and the Italian government, participating in Bolsonaro’s own inauguration as president and accepting that Arce was the MAS candidate in the elections that took place due to popular pressure, which reversed the coup, and removed Añez from power.

However, Arce is a moderate bureaucrat who, especially in domestic politics, has behaved like a kind of Bolivian Lenin Moreno, although not as right-wing. He has spared no effort to remove Morales and his allies from the MAS leadership and thus take the party for himself. Both Morales and Arce intend to run for office in the next presidential elections, and only one of them will be able to represent MAS. The internal struggle, which is already extremely turbulent, tends to intensify.

There is no way to resolve the MAS crisis and reunite the party. The only solution favorable to the Bolivian people is the separation of the bases and the left wing from the right wing and the formation of a new party, workers, socialist and independent, that will act shoulder to shoulder with the Bolivian Workers’ Central to prevent the real coup that is being prepared, to purge the armed forces of their coup and pro-imperialist elements and guarantee power for Bolivian workers and peasants, who in their majority support Evo Morales against Arce.

The defeat of the coup impulses in Bolivia is essential to prevent the continental coup plans made by American imperialism, which have already succeeded in Argentina and Ecuador and which have Brazil as their main target, because the USA cannot tolerate Brazil with a government like this one under Lula for a long time. Certainly the military and the Bolivian right maintain links with Milei’s extreme right and also with the Brazilian extreme right. Milei imposed a dictatorship with the use and abuse of the police and army in Argentina. Noboa imitated the Argentine and did the same in Ecuador soon after. The generals continue with impunity in Brazil a year and a half after January 8th and Bolsonarism remains strong.

Latin America, unfortunately, is still today the “backyard” of the USA. Faced with the complicated international situation, especially in Ukraine, East Asia and the Middle East, with successive defeats, American imperialism needs to ensure control of the continent. This is one of the few points on which Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree. Therefore, regardless of what happens in the American elections, Latin America will be in the eye of the storm from now on.

Original article: Strategic Culture Foundation