Members of Bolivia’s military attempted to storm the presidential palace in the capital, La Paz, on Wednesday afternoon, in an apparent coup attempt led by a top general who declared he was leading an effort to “re-establish democracy.”
The country’s democratically elected president, Luis Arce, appeared on television shortly after, calling on Bolivians “to organize and mobilize against this coup and in favor of democracy.”
“Long live the Bolivian people!” he shouted. “Long live democracy!”
Video on Bolivian television showed security forces in riot gear occupying the country’s main political square, Plaza Murillo, a camouflaged tank ramming into a palace door and soldiers trying to make their way into the palace.
The general, Juan José Zúñiga, briefly entered the building, according to local reporters, before exiting and making a speech surrounding by masked members of the security forces. He criticized the government of Mr. Arce, a leftist, and said the military was attempting to install “a true democracy, not one for a few.”
He also called for the release of several politicians and members of the military who have been imprisoned, including two political opponents of Mr. Arce — former President Jeanine Áñez and former Gov. Luis Fernando Camacho.
“Enough of rule by a few,” the general said. “Look where that has gotten us! Our children have no future, our people have no future, and the army does not lack the balls to fight for our children’s tomorrow.”
Shortly after, Mr. Arce said he was replacing General Zuñiga, the commander general of the armed forces, as well as the heads of the air force and navy.
Local news media had reported that General Zuñiga was dismissed from his position this week, which some in the country believed to be related to remarks he made about former President Evo Morales, a mentor of Mr. Arce.
In a statement on television, the new commanding general named by Mr. Arce, José Wilson Sánchez Velásquez, urged Mr. Zuñiga “not to spill the blood of our soldiers.”
The move was immediately criticized by some leaders in the region, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil. “Coups have never worked,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
In 2019, Mr. Morales and other leaders, facing violent protests and under pressure from the military, stepped down and fled the country, and Ms. Áñez, a senator from a right-wing party, became president. But at the next election, a year later, voters overwhelmingly chose Mr. Arce, Mr. Morales’s hand-picked successor.
