After attempted coup: Bolivia's president denies orchestration
Bolivian President Luis Arce has denied staging a thwarted coup attempt against himself. "How can one order or carry out a coup against oneself?", he asked during his first press conference since the coup attempt on Thursday (local time). General Juan José Zúñiga acted on his own accord, Arce stressed.
Previously, the arrested and ousted Army chief Zúñiga had stated that President Arce had asked him to stage the uprising to improve his own approval ratings. Presidential advisor Maria Nela Prada rejected this account as "absolutely false".
On Wednesday, soldiers with several tanks had advanced towards the Presidential Palace. Army chief Zúñiga stated that the military aimed to "restructure democracy", making it a "true democracy". After approximately five hours, the soldiers withdrew, as observed by AFP reporters.
Zúñiga was later arrested and taken away in a police vehicle, as footage from the state television showed. Additionally, 16 other alleged accomplices were arrested, including Marine Chief Juan Arnez Salvador. They now face up to 20 years in prison for terrorism and armed rebellion. Their positions were filled by Arce.
According to official reports, 14 civilians who opposed the coup attempt were injured by buckshot. Some had to be hospitalized and undergo surgery, as President Arce stated. Politically unstable and weakened by a power struggle between Arce and his former mentor, ex-President Evo Morales, Bolivia is also grappling with economic problems due to decreased gas production.
The thwarted coup was described as the "symptom of significant and widespread dissatisfaction" in the country by Gustavo Flores-Macías, a politics professor at Cornell University in the US state of New York, speaking to news agency AFP. Arce's government is very weak. It remains to be seen which dynamics the dissatisfaction in the army will develop.
- Despite General Juan José Zúniga's claims that President Arce requested a coup to boost his approval ratings, Arce strongly denounced such an allegation during his press conference after the coup attempt in Bolivia.
- The coup attempt on Thursday in Bolivia, which was thwarted with soldiers retreating and key figures like General Zúniga and Marine Chief Juan Arnez Salvador being arrested and facing up to 20 years in prison, was widely condemned by President Arce and his administration.
- Following the coup attempt in Bolivia, President Arce reiterated his stance that the event was a staging by a rogue general, and he emphasized that there was no truth to claims suggesting that he played a role in orchestrating the attempted takeover.
