By Denis Rogatyuk

An attempted coup by Bolivian Army brigadier general Juan Zuñiga against the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) government of President Lucho Arce was defeated on June 26. It was overwhelmed by mass mobilisations of social movements and supporters of Arce and the former president Evo Morales.

Zuñiga was appointed the head of the Bolivian ground forces in November 2022, despite his shady past. Reports from 2013 indicate that Zuñiga had embezzled at least $400,000 USD and was also involved in drug trafficking. Shortly after his appointment, Morales also accused the colonel of forming a secret group of military officers who targeted the coca growers of Cochabamba (Morales’ primary base of support) and even had plans to assassinate him.

Zuñiga’s hostility to Morales came into the open this year during a June 24 television address when he threatened to prevent Morales’ presidential candidacy for the upcoming 2025 general elections and to launch a military coup in the event that he won.

On Tuesday June 25 he was dismissed from his command by President Arce. On June 26, at 3:51 pm, Zuñiga and a group of soldiers and officers loyal to him occupied the central Plaza Murillo in the Bolivian capital, La Paz. They attempted to storm and occupy the Presidential Palace and the adjoining Casa Grande del Pueblo. In a statement to the media, Zuñiga proclaimed that his intention was to “reestablish democracy” in Bolivia and “release all the political prisoners”, meaning the leaders of the 2019 coup against Morales such as Jeanine Añez and Luis Fernando Camacho.

Several minutes afterwards, he was confronted by President Arce at the entrance to the Presidential Palace, who ordered him to stand down and return to the palace. Simultaneously, thousands of supporters of MAS and members of social movements mobilised in Plaza Murillo in support of both Morales and President Arce, while the National Police also took the side of the government. With no popular or institutional support, Zuñiga and his followers were forced to abandon Plaza Murillo at 5:30 pm.

At 7:00 pm Zuñiga was captured in La Paz and the coup had effectively collapsed. While the whole affair lasted less than 4 hours, it sent a shockwave across Bolivia’s political scene and brought back many painful memories of the 2019 coup against Evo Morales.

Significantly, President Arce has dismissed the entire top brass of the Bolivian military and appointed new commanders of the Army, Navy and Airforce. On June 27, Bolivian authorities announced the arrest of 17 people accused of participating in the coup attempt.

Ever since its independence in 1825, Bolivia has suffered more coups, both attempted and successful, than any other nation in South America – 190 to be exact. The most serious, and successful, coup d’tat in modern era was the military-backed overthrow of President Evo Morales in November 2019 and the usurpation of power by the US-backed ultraconservative President Jeanine Añez. The regime of Añez was brought down shortly afterwards following Lucho Arce’s electoral victory in October 2020. However, the social devastation and political divisions it caused still affect Bolivia to this day. The political rift between Morales and Arce is the most evident example of the divisions.

As Bolivia’s President from 2005 to 2019, Morales continues to be immensely popular among the country’s working class, particularly among the rural communities of the western regions. He has also begun to actively campaign as MAS’ possible presidential candidate for the 2025 general election, although that has been met with opposition from the current vice president David Choquehuanca and sections of MAS allied directly with President Arce.

The coup temporarily brought MAS together under the umbrella of preventing another disaster and massacre like that of 2019, but whether it would be enough to mend long-term divisions remains to be seen.