Tension in Bolivia: Supporters of President Luis Arce and his predecessor Evo Morales clash in the street

Escalating tensions between socialist factions in Bolivia erupted in the middle of the street on Sunday. According to local reports, supporters of President Luis Arce clashed with those of his former ally Evo Morales (president between 2006 and 2019) by throwing stones and sticks at each other as well as setting off firecrackers.

The violent clash took place on a busy street near the city of El Alto, in the west of the country. The current president’s supporters flooded the streets for a march convened by Morales that has been taking place in the Bolivian capital since Tuesday.

After the confrontation broke out, police riot teams swarmed in and broke up the two groups. The Health Ministry reported that there were at least eight people injured.

Morales accused the Executive of attacking residents of the populous city with "shock groups" and urged the government to "stop using officials and paramilitary groups to incite violence.”

The former president supported his former minister Arce in the elections that brought him to power under the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), but since 2021 the socialist leaders have been at odds. There have been accusations of racism, coup d'état, corruption and political maneuvering. The last disagreement is about the next presidential elections: Morales wants to be allowed to run against Arce.

The government denounces a coup and calls for dialogue

In a letter to the United Nations, Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa described the advance of Morales' supporters as "a violent march" that "is not aimed at a social demand,” but rather "its primary objective is to interrupt the current constitutional mandate.”

The socialist official reported that upon arriving in La Paz, the demonstrators plan to provoke confrontations at the seat of government to force an early election, scheduled for August 2025.

"They have spoken of civil war and bloodshed in the streets, this exceeds our norms of peaceful coexistence and even conceals a political position of sedition that no government would tolerate, and our government until today has responded to these provocations with the call for dialogue," said for his part the current president.

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The protest against Arce began last Tuesday. It was called by the former president for several reasons, such as the shortage of dollars and fuel and his electoral disqualification.

On Monday morning, Arce again summoned his predecessor to meet, responding affirmatively to a summons from the Ombudsman's Office. Morales, who had summoned the president to approach the march for dialogue, has not replied to this latest proposal.

Morales' March to Save Bolivia is expected to arrive in La Paz this Monday. Hours earlier, the police began to fence off government offices.