Bolivia’s Evo Morales survives a supposed attack and accuses the government of a plot to kill him

Evo Morales, the former president of Bolivia, said that state officials attacked his car and tried to kill him.

In Bolivia, former president Evo Morales said that the government of current president Luis Arce, a close friend, was trying to kill him.

This claim came after Morales’ car was hit by bullets in an attack early Sunday morning, which could make things worse in Bolivia’s political situation. Morales’ fans have set up roadblocks to protest his ongoing legal problems. He shared a video of bullet holes in the windshield of his car and said, “Elite agents of the Bolivian State attempted to take my life today.”

In response to the claims, Arce said that all forms of political violence were wrong and called for a review to be done right away. His deputy security minister also said that the government would look into the event, no matter how true the story was.

At the same time, things are getting worse in Bolivia, where fans of Morales have stopped major highways for two weeks, making it harder to get food and fuel and getting into fights with authorities who are trying to take down the blockades. In response, the Arce government said that Morales was trying to make the country less stable and stop the political order.

Leftist figures in the area, like Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who is the foreign minister of Venezuela and a past president of Argentina, have backed the attack on Morales. A part of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party that supports Morales said that Morales’ convoy was attacked near a military barracks by trucks carrying heavily armed men in black. This group has split its support between Morales and Arce. There is video online that seems to show a high-speed chase during which Morales swapped cars because his driver was hurt. A spokesman for Morales said that there would be a press meeting to show proof that the government planned the claimed attack.

In a radio talk after the attack, Morales said that the attackers stopped his car and fired at it, hitting the driver but missing him by a hair. Morales asked President Arce to fire and bring charges against several top officials right away, including the government and defense ministers, if Arce did not give permission for the attack.

If Luis Arce didn’t give the order for this attempted murder, he should fire Eduardo del Castillo and Edmundo Novillo, who are Arce’s government and defense ministers, and bring charges against them, along with all the police officers who took part, Morales later wrote on social media.

Later, Roberto Rios, Bolivia’s Deputy Security Minister, said that cops were not involved in any operation that was meant to hurt Morales.

Since Morales, who was president for three terms and left in 2019 after a disputed election, the country’s politics have been in a mess. When Morales quit, Arce, who had been his economy minister, took over in 2020. Both men are likely to run in the 2025 elections, which has caused the MAS party to split into groups that back each boss. Along with these political problems, Bolivia is also dealing with big problems in its economy, such as less gas production, less foreign exchange savings, and higher prices.

Aside from the political fight, Morales is also being accused of having relationships with children. Recently, regional officials issued a summons for him to appear in court. Morales didn’t show up, which led to an arrest warrant, even though he has rejected all the charges. Bolivia is going to have a hard time with its next election because of recent events, long-standing political rivals, and economic problems.