In Bolivia, an attempted coup against President Luis Arce of the Movement for Socialism was thwarted. South American leaders and the Bolivian people, judiciary, and unions rallied in his support. The US’s neutral response contrasts sharply with its past interference, especially since Arce’s recent engagements with Russia. The arrest of coup leader General Zuñiga by his own troops signifies a shift in South American politics, rejecting foreign-backed coups reminiscent of the 70s and 80s.
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In Bolivia, there was an attempted coup to forcibly remove the president of the Movement for Socialism, Luis Arce. He is the successor of Evo Morales (same party), a brave president who did not fear challenging the American empire.
In South America, all presidents who are not aligned with Washington immediately condemned the attempted coup. In Bolivia, the judiciary, former President Morales, the largest union, and the population rallied around President Luis Arce. Citizens even took to the streets near the presidential palace to oppose the insurrection.
The fact that the USA did not condemn the coup but instead called for “calm and moderation” is telling. It is equally telling that this coup attempt occurred after Arce met with Putin at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and publicly expressed his desire to join the BRICS.
Notably, Bolivia has vast lithium reserves, which Arce discussed during his bilateral talks with Putin and with Russian entrepreneurs interested in investing in Bolivia. An emblematic image is of President Luis Arce leaving the presidential palace and bravely confronting General Zuñiga, the coup organizer. Subsequently, the coup plotters took their weapons and returned to where they came from.
Remarkably, according to Arce in a press conference, Zuñiga was arrested by his own soldiers. Some need to accept that South America is no longer the region of the 70s and 80s, where coups almost always succeeded. And it appears that South America is no longer the “backyard” of criminals organizing and financing coups from embassies under orders from the mother country. The world has changed. Accept it. Criminals!
El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido
