La Paz, Nov 7 (EFE).- The ruling party Movement for Socialism (MAS) decided this Thursday to expel outgoing Bolivian President Luis Arce following an 'analysis' of the general elections that yielded negative results for the party and due to corruption allegations against him. At a press conference, party president Grover García confirmed the expulsion and stated that Arce 'misappropriated' MAS funds. 'We have requested on several occasions that he regularize (these misappropriations) and he has never done so to this day, and we must inform why those contributions never reached the MAS treasury,' García said. He also explained that Arce 'committed' a 'betrayal during the electoral process' of the August 17 general elections, against the duo of Eduardo del Castillo and Milan Berna, the candidates for congress and MAS militants. He added that the expulsion is also due to the corruption complaints that have been filed in the public administration that 'have not been clarified' to date, which harms the party and 'the people reproach it.' 'We reject that in a forceful manner and that is why we ask that the Public Ministry can clarify the different complaints that have been filed,' García said. García stated that as the ruling party, MAS suggested to the president possible solutions to the fuel shortage that the country has been suffering for months, but 'they have never been able to resolve that issue.' The MAS resolution was issued two days before Arce concludes his term that began in 2020 and will hand over power this Saturday to the elected president, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC). In the recent elections, held on August 17, MAS obtained 3.17% of the vote, a result that ended almost 20 years of government by that party, led until recently by former President Evo Morales (2006-2019). Arce, who announced his presidential candidacy for MAS in April, declined his re-election bid in May and called for the unity of the country's left around the candidate with the best chances to face the opposition. MAS fragmented due to the fight between Morales and Arce for control of the party, the way of governing, and the official candidacy for the August elections. This was added to the decision of then-Senate President, the ruling Andrónico Rodríguez, who was very close to Morales, to run on his own in the elections with the Popular Alliance. Arce was a MAS militant and Minister of Economy during the government of Evo Morales (2006-2019) and ran for president of the country for the party in the 2020 elections, in which he won. Paz defeated the right-wing former President Jorge Tuto Quiroga (2001-2002) with 54.96% against 45.04%, in a historic presidential runoff held last October 19. Photo EFE
President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, is expelled from the ruling MAS party
This entry was first published in La Verdad Panamá.
