Bolivia's Unique 'Me Barrejas' Tradition Explained

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is a diverse country with the largest geographic extension of Amazonian plains and lowlands, mountains, Chaco, valleys, and high plateau areas. Bolivia has a rich history, having been part of the great Inca Empire before Spanish colonization in the 16th century. The country gained independence from Spain in 1825 and has since experienced a mix of military and civilian governments. In recent years, Bolivia has faced political instability, with allegations of a coup attempt in 2024 and disputed elections in 2019.

Coup d'état attempt of Juan José Zúñiga

On 26 June 2024, an attempted coup d'état occurred in Bolivia, led by General Juan José Zúñiga, the former commander-in-chief of the Bolivian Army. Zúñiga, who owed his position to President Luis Arce, had been sacked and arrested just a day before the coup attempt.

Zúñiga had made inflammatory comments about arresting former president Evo Morales if he ran for office again in 2025, which had led to his dismissal. On the day of the coup, Zúñiga led troops and tanks to occupy Plaza Murillo in La Paz, the political heart of the country, where both the executive and legislative branches are headquartered. The coup plotters faced resistance from the police and lacked meaningful military or political support, with the attempt ultimately lasting only a few hours.

Zúñiga's motivation for the coup was his belief that an elite had taken control of the country and that politicians were "destroying" Bolivia. He claimed that the military intervention was intended to restore democracy and that it had the support of the people. However, the coup attempt was met with widespread condemnation, both domestically and internationally, and ultimately failed amid domestic and international pressure.

Following his arrest, Zúñiga asserted that the coup attempt had been orchestrated by President Arce himself as a ruse to boost his popularity. He claimed that Arce had instructed him to deploy tanks and stage an uprising. Arce denied these allegations, and Zúñiga now faces criminal charges and up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The coup attempt highlighted the political and economic instability in Bolivia, with a split in the ruling party between former president Morales and incumbent Arce hampering the government's ability to address financial crises. It also raised concerns about potential crackdowns on political opponents and the fragile state of democracy in the country.

Evo Morales' exile

Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia, was forced to resign and flee to Mexico in November 2019. Morales had been seeking an unprecedented fourth term as president, but a disputed election win sparked civil unrest, and he came under pressure from the military to quit. Morales described the events as a coup, and his critics, including election observers from the Organisation of American States (OAS), alleged that the election had been rigged.

Morales arrived in Mexico on a Mexican government plane, and was greeted by foreign secretary Marcelo Ebrard. He thanked Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, saying, "he saved my life". Morales also vowed to continue in politics, saying, "as long as I'm alive, the fight will continue".

Morales's exile was short-lived, as he returned to Bolivia in November 2020, just over a year after he had left. His return sparked concerns that he would continue to erode democratic norms in the country, particularly as he retained a senior role in the ruling MAS party. Despite this, many Bolivians hoped that the recent election of President Luis Arce signalled a return to democratic stability.

Luis Arce's presidency

Luis Alberto Arce Catacora, commonly known as Lucho, is a Bolivian banker, economist, and politician who has served as the country's 67th president since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, Arce previously served as minister of finance and economy under President Evo Morales from 2006 to 2017, and again in 2019.

Arce was born in La Paz, Bolivia, in 1963 and graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Warwick. He began his career at the Central Bank of Bolivia, where he worked for over two decades, eventually becoming deputy manager of reserves. In 2006, President Evo Morales appointed him as minister of finance, and he later assumed command of the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance. Arce was hailed as the mastermind behind Bolivia's economic transformation, overseeing the nationalization of the hydrocarbon industry, telecommunications, and mining companies, as well as the rapid expansion of GDP and the reduction of poverty.

In 2019, Arce resigned from his position due to social unrest and allegations of electoral fraud, which ultimately led to Morales' removal as president. During the interim government of Jeanine Áñez, Arce sought asylum in Mexico and Argentina. However, in 2020, he was nominated as the Movement for Socialism's presidential candidate and won the election with 55% of the popular vote.

Arce's presidency has focused on combating the COVID-19 pandemic, procuring vaccines, and stabilizing the economy. He has also worked towards judicial reform and addressed issues related to coca production. Additionally, Arce's foreign policy has been characterized by a realignment with traditional allies, such as Venezuela and Iran.

In June 2024, Arce faced a coup attempt led by General Juan José Zúñiga, which was quickly thwarted. The plot highlighted the underlying political and economic uncertainty in the country.

Bolivia's economic growth

Bolivia's economy is the 95th largest in the world, and the country is classified as lower-middle income. Bolivia's economy has historically been driven by natural resources, with a focus on a single commodity, which has shifted from silver to tin to coca. While the country has experienced periods of economic diversification, modernisation efforts have been constrained by political instability and difficult topography.

Between 2006 and 2019, Bolivia's GDP per capita doubled, and the extreme poverty rate declined from 38% to 18%. During this period, the economy quadrupled from a value of $9,573 million to $42,401 million, largely due to the nationalisation of natural resources, stability of the exchange rate, incentives for the domestic market, and strong public investment in infrastructure. Bolivia's economic growth has also been supported by its agricultural sector, with products such as soybeans, cotton, coffee, and sugarcane contributing to exports.

However, Bolivia's economy has faced challenges, including inflation, corruption, and fluctuations in the prices of natural resources. The country has implemented macroeconomic stabilisation and structural reform programmes to address these issues. Bolivia's economic growth slowed in the early 2020s due to the pandemic, declining gas exports, and other factors. To promote sustainable recovery, the country needs to address structural challenges, such as macroeconomic imbalances, and promote private sector development.

In recent years, Bolivia has made important strides towards economic recovery and poverty reduction, but high public debt, declining natural gas production, and modest international reserves have limited the government's ability to boost growth. The country is also exposed to risks such as commodity price volatility, the global economic slowdown, and climate-related disasters.

Bolivia's political instability

Bolivia has been in a state of political turmoil since 2019, when accusations of election fraud during the presidential election led to the resignation and exile of longtime President Evo Morales. Morales had been moving in an increasingly authoritarian direction, exerting tighter control over the judiciary and the opposition media, and ignoring the results of a 2016 referendum that banned him from running for president again. This sparked demonstrations from both Morales's supporters and opponents, with around 70% of all demonstrations recorded in Bolivia in 2019 occurring in the immediate aftermath of the October elections.

After Morales's resignation, Jeanine Áñez, the second vice president of Bolivia’s Senate, was appointed as interim president. However, her rise to power was also met with protests, with demonstrators claiming that her right-wing government was persecuting political opponents and trying to use the pandemic as an excuse to retain power.

In 2020, Luis Arce, Bolivia’s former Economics and Finance Minister, won the presidential election with 55% of the vote. As the MAS candidate, Arce’s victory meant that Bolivians chose to return Morales’s party to power. However, this was met with dissatisfaction by citizens who opposed MAS, particularly in the three most populous departments of Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, and La Paz. Citizens opposing MAS’ return to power demanded an audit of the election process to verify Arce was the legitimate winner.

During Arce's presidency, political instability has continued. In March 2021, municipal elections were held, in which MAS candidates were behind in at least 10 large cities. This led to divisions within the MAS party, with supporters calling for new leadership to represent the party in local government positions. In addition, tensions have increased with the arrest of former interim President Áñez on charges of participating in a coup to remove Morales from power in 2019.

The political instability in Bolivia has been accompanied by an economic crisis, amplified by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as social unrest and human rights violations.

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