Bolivia's Arce faces coup attempt

Bolivia's president fired the commander of the country's army, warning that a coup was in the making after military forces thronged the capital amid infighting in his political party.

President Luis Arce sacked the commander of the joint chiefs of staff, army general Juan Jose Zuniga, as tanks were weaving through the streets around the presidential office building and congress in La Paz. The president, flanked by his cabinet ministers, called for the country to unite.

"We need the Bolivian people to organize and mobilize against the coup and in favor of democracy," the president said.

Brazil denounced the attempted coup and called for support for Arce.

The potential coup came amid rising tensions between Arce and former president Evo Morales for control of the ruling MAS party ahead of the 2025 general elections.

Morales was president from 2006-2019, when he resigned after winning a new term in controversial elections. An interim government ran the country until Arce's 2020 election. He and Morales have been feuding since then, with the situation spilling over in recent weeks.

The government blames Morales for recent roadblocks and a strike by truck drivers that the administration claims is costing the country a daily $50mn in losses. State-owned oil and natural gas company YPFB has been one of the hardest hit by the strike, unable to deliver gasoline and 10kg LPG cylinders to service stations.

Arce also accuses Morales of mishandling the country's natural gas industry and inflating reserve figures.

Natural gas production has been falling, going from a high of 56mn m³/d in 2006 to around 40mn m³/d in April, according to YPFB. Bolivia has considered reversing the flow of some of its oil and natural gas pipelineS to import rather than export as its production has declined, and plans to tap its extensive lithium reserves have lagged.

By Lucien Chauvin