Latest news with #LAPAZ
2 days ago
- Politics
Bolivia reinstates a leftist challenger but keeps former leader Morales off the ballot
LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Bolivia's electoral tribunal on Friday included leftist Senate leader Andrónico Rodríguez on the list of presidential candidates approved for the ballot but excluded the powerful former socialist leader Evo Morales — the other major thorn in the president's side. As tensions escalate in the run-up to Bolivia's Aug. 17 elections, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reinstated Rodríguez, a 36-year-old political upstart with close ties to Morales and roots in the ex-president's rural coca-growing stronghold, weeks after suspending his candidacy on technical grounds in a decision that shocked many Bolivians. 'We are the candidate of the people,' Rodríguez said in a speech welcoming the revival of his campaign. 'Our primary concern has been to wage the legal battle, and in the end, the power of the people had to prevail.' With the ruling Movement Toward Socialism party, or MAS, riven by dysfunction and division over President Luis Arce's power struggle with his former mentor, Morales, supporters of the senate leader see him as the only chance for MAS to beat the right-wing opposition and salvage its decades-long political dominance. President Arce, widely blamed for accelerating Bolivia's worst economic crisis in 40 years, dropped out of the race last month. Opinion polls show that his pick for the presidency, senior minister Eduardo del Castillo, has inherited the president's unpopularity. Arce's government insists that its main rival, Morales, is constitutionally barred from running. Morales accuses Arce of waging a 'judicial war' against him. In leaving out Morales, the tribunal opened the potential for further turmoil: Morales has called on his supporters to take to the streets to demand his eligibility. Over the last week his followers have blockaded some of the main roads around the country, adding to a sense of crisis as merchants and truckers rise up in outrage over surging food prices and severe fuel shortages. Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, has been holed up in the country's tropics for months, surrounded by fiercely loyal coca-farmers, as Arce's government seeks his arrest on charges relating to his sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. A constitutional court filled with judges beholden to Arce has disputed the legality of Morales' fourth candidacy and barred him from the contest. 'The constitutional court acts like a sniper ... restricting and enabling electoral participation upon request,' he said in response to his disqualification. 'The order is clear: Hand over the government to the right and legitimize the election with negotiated candidates who will protect their backs.' Morales, whose own loyalists packed the same court when he was president, points to an earlier court ruling that paved the way for his 2019 presidential campaign, that said it would violate his human rights to stop him running. Morales' bid that year for an unprecedented fourth term ultimately sparked mass protests and led to his resignation and brief self-exile. The conservative opposition to MAS is also fractured, with at least three right-of-center candidates vying for the presidency and no clear frontrunner. All of them are little-known abroad but well-known within Bolivia, where they have run for president or served in government in the past: Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, former president from 2001-2002, Samuel Doria Medina, a former cement tycoon and planning minister, and Manfred Reyes Villa, the mayor of Bolivia's major central city of Cochabamba.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Bolivia leftist Rodriguez back in presidential race; Morales kept out
Bolivia's presidential candidate Andronico Rodriguez gestures as he and vice presidential candidate Mariana Prado (not pictured) announce their candidacy under the Popular Alliance during an event at a hotel in La Paz, Bolivia May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Morales/File Photo LA PAZ - Bolivian Senate leader Andronico Rodriguez is eligible to run in the nation's presidential elections later this year, a constitutional court confirmed on Thursday, while former President Evo Morales remains out of the running. Rodriguez, a leftist leader who has received backing from current President Luis Arce, had difficulties registering his party in the race. Morales, meanwhile, is constitutionally barred from running, though he has called for his supporters to take to the streets to demand his eligibility. Rodriguez's "Third System" party can participate in August's elections, the court ruled on Thursday. A recent Ipsos CIESMORI poll showed him as the leading contender for the left, after opposition candidates Samuel Doria, a businessman and economist, and conservative ex-President Jorge Quiroga. Morales, who has lost much of his political clout as he remains locked away in a compound guarded by his supporters in rural Bolivia to evade a warrant out for his arrest, on Thursday insisted that he will return to once again lead the country. Courts have repeatedly ruled that Morales, who has already served three terms as president, is ineligible to run for another term. "We again ask political actors to not try and judicialize the electoral process," senior judge Rene Yvan Espada said in a press conference. "We want to invite Bolivian citizens... to follow through on their responsibility to carry out these elections with the upmost normality, harmony and peace possible," he added. Morales has taken advantage of the waning popularity of Arce, once Morales' mentee, due to rising living costs, political infighting and long lines for petrol supplies, all of which have fueled recent protests and street blockades. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bolivia's Rodriguez back on ballot in presidential race, Morales still out
LA PAZ (Reuters) -Bolivian Senate leader Andronico Rodriguez is eligible to run in the nation's presidential elections later this year, a constitutional court confirmed on Thursday, while former President Evo Morales remains out of the running. Rodriguez, a leftist leader who has received backing from current President Luis Arce, had difficulties registering his party in the race. Morales, meanwhile, is constitutionally barred from running, though he has called for his supporters to take to the streets to demand his eligibility.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Ten Bolivian police hurt in clashes with Morales supporters
Supporters hold a sign with an image of former President Evo Morales (AP) LA PAZ: At least 10 Bolivian police officers were injured on Tuesday in clashes with supporters of former leader Evo Morales who are demanding he be allowed run for a fourth term as president, the government said. The clashes took place in central Bolivia, where Morales' supporters began blocking roads on Monday to protest his disqualification from August's election. Six of the injured officers were hurt in dynamite explosions in the village of Bombeo in Morales' central stronghold of Cochabamba, according to Carola Arraya, deputy minister of citizen security. The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of current President Luis Arce, whom they blame for a severe economic crisis and for the refusal of electoral authorities to allow Morales to contest the August 17 vote. Omar Ramirez, a leader of the Evo Pueblo movement -- which Morales founded after he quit the ruling party earlier this year -- said there were "some people injured among our companions," without giving details. Morales, one of Latin America's longest-serving leaders, served three terms as president between 2006 and 2019 before being forced to resign after elections tainted by fraud allegations. Despite being barred by the Constitutional Court from seeking a fourth term, along with being sought on charges of human trafficking over his alleged sexual relationship with a minor while in office, Morales attempted in vain to register as a candidate last month. Ramirez said that the election row had now "taken a back seat" to the economic crisis for the demonstrators. Acute shortages of dollars and fuel have caused prices of basic goods to skyrocket, sending Bolivians repeatedly into the street in protest in recent months. Bus drivers and retailers have also announced demonstrations this week over the situation. Writing on his X account, Arce claimed the real motive for the protests was Morales' "unconstitutional candidacy" and accused him of being prepared to "shut down cities and prevent the transport of food deliveries, as he did in the past" to further his comeback bid
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Evo Morales out of Bolivian presidential race as candidate deadline expires
By Daniel Ramos LA PAZ (Reuters) -The registration window for candidates hoping to compete for Bolivia's presidency in its August election expired on Tuesday, drawing a line under ex-President Evo Morales' attempt at a fourth presidential term. A constitutional court decision last week upheld a ban on any individual serving more than two presidential terms, effectively preventing Morales, a political power player for almost two decades, from running again. Morales, who ruled the country from 2006 to 2019 and was Bolivia's first Indigenous president, has challenged his exclusion, with groups that support him organizing protests and traffic stoppages. "The fight is not lost, we will fight the legal and the social battle," Morales told local radio station Radio Panamericana on Tuesday. Morales' Movement to Socialism, or MAS, which has dominated Bolivian politics and increased Indigenous representation in recent years, now approaches the August 17 election as a fragmented political force, with at least three separate factions competing for the presidency. Eduardo del Castillo, interior minister until last week, is backed by the incumbent president, Morales mentee-turned-rival Luis Arce. Senate President Andronico Rodriguez has registered his candidacy, though his participation is pending a judicial decision. Eva Copa, a former MAS senator and current mayor of El Alto, has registered to run for her own new party, known as Morena. In total, 10 candidates will seek the presidency in an election that will take place amid a deep economic crisis and increasing popular discontent. Carlos Saavedra, an independent political analyst, said a clear election result looked unlikely. "We're going to have plenty of voter spread and I am certain we're in a context where a victory in the first round will be impossible for anybody. It's even less likely that somebody will win a two-thirds majority in the legislative assembly," Saavedra said. Bolivia's constitutional court said the candidate roster could still change. Resignations are possible up to 45 days ahead of the election, while substitutions due to inability or permanent impediment can happen up to three days before election day.
