Bolivian general says President Luis Arce ordered him to stage attempted coup after storming government buildings

Bolivian authorities are investigating at least 17 people they say were involved in a government coup that occurred on Thursday after former Bolivian Army Gen. Juan José Zúñiga arrived at La Paz's Murillo Square government headquarters with a group of armed soldiers and a tank.

In the wake of the general’s arrest however, he is telling journalists that the event was actually staged at the request of President Luis Arce who has been in a prolonged political battle with former President Evo Morales, a predecessor who has created gridlock in the government.

Questions about a purported coup and Bolivia’s complicated history

“According to that view of proceedings, the prospect of a coup has allowed the president to appear as a champion of democracy and give him a much-needed boost in popularity,” wrote the BBC’s Robert Plummer in a June 28 report.

That view was adopted by Bolivian political analyst Carlos Toranzo, who told BBC Mundo that, “There is very little clarity now as to whether ti was an attempted coup d’état, or conspicuously, a show put on by the government itself.”

He added that the purported uprising was an “isolated act” by Gen. Zúñiga, saying that “there was no military movement in all the departments in other provinces or La Paz, so this is not an institutional act of the armed forces.”

If the uprising was an actual coup, it would be more than four decades since Bolivia encountered such an event with its military forces trying to seize power. The South American country was run by various military regime from 1964 to 1982 and then was able to emerge as a democracy.

Morales, a far left socialist, first came to power in 2005 and quickly nationalized the South American country’s gas fields. During his first two terms in power, gas prices remained stable enough to attract investment from China, but then fell dramatically leading to a significant downturn in Bolivia’s economy and upsurge in inflation.

Morales violated the constitution in 2019 by running for a third term, and despite declaring victory, resigned within several weeks after an outcry from across the country and tension with the military. Morales complained he was forced out as part of a coup and an interim government took over.

The following year however, Morales’ far left socialist Mas Party took power again under Arce. While the two men are both leaders within their own party, a rivalry has developed because Morales has returned to Bolivia with hopes of challenging Arce for the presidency in the upcoming 2025 presidential election.

“The power struggle between the two is hampering the government's ability to do things that make the situation a little better for the population at large,” Monica de Bolle, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, told the BBC.

Chronology of events

Bolivia’s political situation took a turn on Tuesday night after Zúñiga threatened to “arrest” Morales during an interview with a local television newscast, saying the former president is not constitutionally permitted to run for president again.

The following day, Wednesday, the general stormed La Paz's Murillo Square Plaza Murillo with a group of armed soldiers and tanks.

After breaking down the door of the Casa Grande del Pueblo headquarters of the Bolivian Executive

at 3:51 p.m. local time, Zúñiga entered with a group of soldiers, where President Arce, and Vice President David Choquehuanca were located.

Arce confronted Zúñiga at the entrance to the Executive headquarters, ordering him to "withdraw" the tanks and the military. The former general only stayed inside the executive headquarters for seven minutes, vowing to “reestablish” democracy, and free “all political prisoners” including former interim president Jeanine Añez and opposition governor Luis Fernando Camacho.

After denouncing “irregular movements” of the military to the international community, Arce called the event an “attempted coup d’état.”

Shortly after the event, former Morales called the event a “coup d'état,” saying, “we will not allow the Armed Forces to violate democracy and intimidate the people.”

International response

Others outside Bolivia in the international community have also condemned the event as a coup.

In a Wednesday statement from Paraguay, Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro said that regional allies would not tolerate “any form of violation of the legitimate constitutional order in Bolivia.”

“The General Secretariat of the OAS condemns the actions of the Bolivian Army in the most forceful manner. It must submit to civil authority as mandated by the Inter-American Democratic Charter,” Almagro said.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also concurred.

“The European Union condemns any attempt to break the constitutional order in Bolivia and overthrow democratically elected governments, and expresses its solidarity with the Bolivian government and people,” Borrell wrote in X.

Relief of Bolivia’s military leadership

After Zúñiga’s purported coup, Arce relieved the entire military leadership and swore in the new commanders to lead the country’s armed forces.

After he retreated from Plaza Murillo, military units withdrew after tension with the Bolivian Tactical Police Operations Unit, which closed down the area for several hours.

After Zúñiga’s withdrawal, Arce and the vice president appeared on the balcony of the Casa Grande del Pueblo and gave a speech in front of hundreds of people who came to support his administration among shouts shouting that the coup would not be tolerated.  

Zúñiga was captured at 7:00 p.m. Bolivian local time, telling local media that Arce ordered him to deploy armored vehicles to “raise his popularity” after their weekend meeting, saying the president told him that the situation in Bolivia would be difficult this week.