Former president Evo Morales announced this Thursday his candidacy for the general elections on August 17 after sealing an alliance with the Front for Victory (FPV). Francisco Vargas, a member of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, reported that the FPV faces two warnings and that its party congress has not yet been validated. The faction of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) loyal to President Luis Arce consolidates its control over the party, leaving Morales without the structure he governed with for nearly 14 years.
"We already have a party to participate in this year's elections," Morales proclaimed to his supporters in Cochabamba, thus challenging the justice system that prevents his candidacy and that is investigating him for an alleged case of child trafficking. Accompanied by Eliseo RodrÃguez, leader of the FPV, the former president stated that his candidacy is a response to attempts to "proscribe the indigenous-popular movement," as well as an effort to recover the "democratic and cultural revolution."
The agreement establishes that Morales will be the only presidential candidate of the FPV, while the election of his vice-presidential running mate will be defined by consensus. However, his candidacy faces a legal obstacle, as a ruling from the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal in December 2023, reaffirmed in 2024, prohibits his participation, stating that no Bolivian can serve more than two presidential terms.
Morales has an arrest warrant for not appearing at a court hearing related to the alleged abuse of a minor, with whom he allegedly had a child while he was in office. Despite this, the former president assured that "with the Front for Victory we will win the national elections again(...) I want you to know that there are no conditions, everything here is to save Bolivia." For his part, RodrÃguez stated that "we have made this commitment to move forward with our country that is heading towards bankruptcy."
