Bolivia’s Morales hits back at terrorism charges

LA PAZ: Bolivia’s socialist ex-leader Evo Morales, blamed by the incumbent government for recent unrest, on Thursday denounced terrorism and armed uprising charges a right-wing group filed against him a day earlier.

Since early May, massive demonstrations have railed against the Andean nation’s worst economic crisis in decades, with protest blockades triggering severe shortages in several cities.

The government has accused Morales of orchestrating the movement, which escalated into demands for the resignation of US-backed president Rodrigo Paz.

The conservative leader succeeded in quelling the protests by declaring a state of emergency last month, allowing him to deploy the army and outlaw demonstrations.

On Wednesday, a right-wing business and civil society conglomerate filed terrorism and armed uprising charges against Morales, trade unionist Mario Argollo and Indigenous figure Vicente Salazar.

The complaint also relates to the “risk of flight and obstruction” of investigations, the Santa Cruz Civic Committee’s lawyer told reporters.

The public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the allegations, the El Deber newspaper reported, but it did not confirm the probe when contacted by AFP.

Morales, Bolivia’s first-ever Indigenous leader, is in hiding in his coca-growing stronghold of Chapare to escape charges of trafficking a minor, which he denies.

“There have been so many cases, and I’ve won them all,” he stated at a press conference Thursday, adding that the group pressing the charges “has no morals whatsoever.”

Morales claimed that the conglomerate itself urged blockades in 2019 to force him to step down following elections tainted by fraud.

Paz has said he is planning an operation in Morales’ political bastion, without specifying when.

In a recent interview with AFP, Morales said the authorities had “no reason to intervene” in Chapare.