Bolivia - June 2024

On 26 June, Juan José Zúñiga, a former army chief and general, led other former commanders and members of the military in occupying Plaza Murillo, the main square in La Paz where the offices of the executive and legislature are located.  Zúñiga and armed supporters had entered the square with armoured vehicles.   Zúñiga had been dismissed as army chief a day earlier, after stating he would block any bid from former President Evo Morales to run for re-election in 2025. President Luis Arce confronted  Zúñiga and accused him of leading a coup.  Zúñiga was arrested by police the same day, along with others who participated in the occupation of Plaza Murillo.  Zúñiga, who has been charged with several crimes, has given conflicting remarks regarding his motivations, first alleging his attempt was to free political prisoners and improve conditions for Bolivians, but later suggesting that it had been President Arce who had staged the events of 26 June, as a ploy to boost his approval ratings. 

Sources: Agencia Boliviana de información, CNN, El Pais

On 6 June, the Legislative Assembly approved a bill that suspends judges and magistrates of high courts whose mandates had been prolonged given the delay in the holding of judicial elections. It establishes that such suspensions should be considered to have taken effect on 1 January, and that any subsequent decisions that these judges have issued should be considered as null and void. The bill was supported by center-right opposition members, as well as by the “Evista” wing of ruling party Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), who denounced attempts by “Arcista” lawmakers to suspend the session. Supporters of Evo Morales have long criticized the extension of mandates of judges as illegal. According to the Constitutional Court,  the adopted bill should have no legal effects, as the  Legislative Assembly’s related session was convened by the Senate’s president, and not by Vice-President David Choquehuanca, who would ordinarily preside its sessions (the latter was away on official travel). Confrontation between these two branches of government could continue to delay the holding of judicial elections and certainty over the tenure of acting judges in the coming months.

Sources: Educación Radiofonica de Bolivia, El Pais, Agencia Boliviana de Informacion