Alliance for Global Justice congratulates the Arce Administration for its swift action to restore popular democracy in Bolivia just hours after its National Army surrounded the Palacio Quemado with tanks and armored vehicles during a Cabinet meeting, calling for the resignation of the President and the entire Cabinet. The effort was led by Commander Juan José Zúñiga Macías, now under arrest, who had also made a series of threats against former president Evo Morales.

Popular movements quickly took to the streets en masse across the country to defend Bolivia’s democracy, shouting “Lucho is not alone!” and “stop the coup d’état!” Their cry was met with resounding agreement from both President Arce and former president Evo Morales, both of whom denounced the attack on Bolivia’s democracy.

“We denounce irregular mobilizations of some units of the Bolivian Army. Democracy must be respected,” said President Arce, who over the last six months has been alerting the public to the possibility of a coup attempt against his administration, on X. Meanwhile, Evo Morales called on social movements of the countryside and the city to mobilize in defense of democracy. Vice President David Choquehuanca pronounced that “we denounce that a group of the Special Regiment of Challapata ‘Mendez Arcos’ took the Plaza Murillo with snipers,” suggesting that the administration was already preparing for such a coup.

The coup has been denounced by MAS leadership, social movements and the international community alike. Even the European Union condemned “any attempt to break constitutional order in Bolivia and overthrow democratically elected governments.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, no public statement has been made by the Biden Administration. This mirrors the silence of the United States during the 2019 coup against former president Evo Morales. It should be noted that one of the top commanders behind the 2019 coup in Bolivia had participated in the U.S.-sponsored APALA police exchange program.

Interestingly, General Juan Jose Zuñga said before Bolivia TV, “we are going to free all the political prisoners,” including U.S.-backed politicians Luis Fernando Camacho and Jeanine Áñez, as well as the soldiers who rebelled in the 2019 coup attempt. This only further suggests that what took place was a far-right coup attempt with possible connections to the U.S. State Department.

Alliance for Global Justice calls on social movements in defense of human rights, peace and democracy to be attentive to what is happening in Bolivia and call on their governments to denounce any rogue attacks on Bolivia’s democracy.