The president of BoliviaLuis Arce, said this Tuesday that the Coup attempt which he faced on June 26 had been produced by “foreign interests“in the country’s natural resources.
On that date, a group of soldiers led by General Juan José Zúñiga, then commander of the Bolivian Armed Forces, unsuccessfully tried to invade the government headquarters in La Paz. He and a group of at least 20 other people were eventually arrested.
According to Luis Arce, this coup attempt had as its objective “gain control of strategic resources“from Bolivia, although the president did not provide evidence to support his theory and limited himself to saying that investigations are still ongoing into who might be responsible.
“Behind all the coups d’état that our country has experienced there have always been interests to control and dominate our natural resources.“Arce said during an interview with BBC News Mundo.
“It is clear that Bolivia is a country rich in natural resources. We are the first lithium reserve in the world, we have rare earths, we have one of the largest reserves of fresh water, minerals, gas. We are a highly coveted country for a very long time and behind the coups d’état that our country has experienced there have always been interests to control and dominate our natural resources. So, it is clear that this coup was not simply to take over the government, but to take control of the strategic resources that we have in Bolivia.“, he stressed.
Asked about General Zúñiga’s version, who revealed that this coup attempt was an agreement with Arce himself to improve his popularity, the president completely rejected that statement: “Of course not. You all saw it on television and luckily you were there, not just television images, there were people who were filming there. You heard exactly when I instructed General Zúñiga to withdraw the military forces that were there.”
Finally, he referred to the intentions of former President Evo Morales to return to power. The two are competing to be the candidate of the MAS, the main left-wing party in Bolivia, for the 2025 presidential elections.
According to President Arce, Morales wants to be president again “The good way or the bad way” and described his will as “obstinacy”. “The stubbornness of continuing to be a candidate is what is generating all this”said Arce, referring to the fracture in the Bolivian left.
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Source: Gestion
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