Former Bolivian President Evo Morales stated that he continues to be the president of the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS). In response to the constitutional ruling that removed this status, Morales called the decision "illegal" and "void", and summoned a meeting of his supporters to define future actions.
Morales highlighted that the ruling that removes him from the leadership of MAS is proof that he remains eligible as a candidate in the 2025 presidential elections. He expressed his concern about the situation and called for unity and calm among his supporters to define upcoming actions.
The ruling issued by magistrates Gonzalo Hurtado and René Espada validated all acts carried out in the Ordinary National Congress of MAS-IPSP, held in El Alto in May 2024. This implied the recognition of Grover García as the new president of MAS, although the electoral body has not yet ratified this appointment.
The congress in El Alto, supported by President Luis Arce, followed the event organized by Morales's supporters in Lauca Ñ, in October 2023. At that meeting, Morales was reelected as the leader of MAS and was proclaimed as the "sole candidate" for the 2025 elections, although later the electoral body deemed the event invalid.
In light of these discrepancies, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal urged both factions of the ruling party to hold a consensus congress to validate their decisions, which has not yet materialized. Morales pointed to the TSE as the highest authority to determine his status as leader of MAS, recalling that the body rejected the congress in El Alto.
Disputes over the presidential candidacy and control of MAS have deepened divisions within the ruling party since late 2021, following the separation between Arce and Morales. In this context, Morales accused Arce of governing through two magistrates of the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal, whom he criticized for issuing rulings that, in his opinion, lack legal validity.
