Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia's government palace on Wednesday in an apparent coup attempt against President Luis Arce, but he vowed to stand firm and appointed a new army commander who ordered troops to withdraw.
The soldiers later withdrew as Arce supporters waved Bolivian flags and cheered in a central square.
In a video of Arce surrounded by ministers at the palace, the Bolivian leader said: “Here we are, standing firm in Casa Grande, to face any coup attempt. We need the Bolivian people to organize.”
Arce confronted the army's overall commander – Juan José Zúñiga, who appeared to be leading the uprising – in the palace hallway, as seen on video on Bolivian television. “I am your captain and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.
Before entering the government building, Zúñiga told journalists in the square: “There will certainly be a new cabinet of ministers soon; our country, our state cannot continue like this.” But, he said, “for now” he recognizes Arce as commander-in-chief.
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Zúñiga did not explicitly say he was leading a coup, but at the palace, with explosions behind him, he said the army was trying to “restore democracy and free our political prisoners.”
In a post on his X account, Arce called for “respecting democracy.” It happened when Bolivian television showed two tanks and several men in military uniforms in front of the government palace.
“We cannot allow coup attempts to take the lives of Bolivians again,” he said from the palace, surrounded by government officials, in a video message sent to the news media.
An hour later, Arce announced the new heads of the army, navy and air force to loud cheers from supporters. Video showed troops setting up blockades outside the government palace.
Shortly afterwards, troops and armored vehicles begin withdrawing from Bolivia's presidential palace.
The leadership of Bolivia's largest union condemned the action and called an indefinite strike by social and labor organizations in La Paz in defense of the government.
The incident sparked outrage from other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States; Gabriel Boric, the president of neighboring Chile; the leader of Honduras and former Bolivian leaders.
Bolivia, a country of 12 million people, has faced mounting protests in recent months over the steep decline of its economy from one of the continent's fastest-growing countries two decades ago to one of the most crisis-hit.
The country has also seen a striking rift at the highest levels of the ruling party. Arce and his former ally, left-wing icon and former President Morales, have been fighting for the future of Bolivia's splintering Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, before the 2025 elections.
