Bolivia's Ruling Party Factions Clash in La Paz

Two opposing factions of Bolivia’s ruling party MAS clashed with violence showing the internal divisions between supporters of incumbent Bolivian President Luis Arce and former president Evo Morales as they seek to lead the race in the 2025 elections.

The confronting sides clashed in La Paz near the Electoral Supreme Court building, where representatives of political parties, including Evo Morales, and social organizations were called to set the bases of the process leading to the upcoming presidential election.

President Arce did not attend the meeting.

The mayor of La Paz Ivan Arias showed up to quell the confrontations, but was injured when hit by a stone.

The quarrel took place two weeks after a faction of the Army failed to overthrow the government on July 26.

Tensions have been building in Bolivia ahead of general elections in 2025, with Morales planning to run against former ally Arce, creating a major rift in the ruling socialist party and wider political uncertainty.

A plan to stage a coup against Bolivia’s president was not what Gen. Tomás Peña y Lillo was expecting when he entered the military headquarters in La Paz.

Like many Bolivians, Peña y Lillo said he struggled to piece the story together, recalling how “there had been a lot of talk in the military that Bolivian President Luis Arce would hand the government over to Zúñiga” as protests roiled the country over shortages of dollars and fuel.

The retired general’s comments mark another surreal turn in the nation’s efforts to establish the facts of what happened on June 26, when military forces stormed downtown La Paz, stunning the country and spinning off waves of rumors from the mundane to the absurd.

After the purported rebellion roiled the South American country that has seen no fewer than 190 coups since its independence in 1825, Bolivians who thought they’d seen it all say they’ve never been more confused.