Failed Coup in Bolivia: Army Chief Arrested After Leading Troops in Attack on Government Palace

In Bolivia, an attempted military coup against President Luis Arce was quickly thwarted soon after it began Wednesday night. Arce, part of the left-wing Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, has already named a replacement for the coup’s leader, General Juan José Zúñiga, who called for “democracy” during the attempt. Arce was elected in 2020 after the third reelection of Bolivia’s previous president, Evo Morales, one of the founders of MAS, for an unconstitutional fourth term was overturned by pressure from the military and police. Although Bolivia is “a fragile democracy,” there is “very little popular support for the military,” while popular civilian support remains with Morales and MAS, explains our guest Kathryn Ledebur, executive director of the Andean Information Network in Cochabamba.