Bolivia: Evo Morales accuses government of refusing talks

Former Bolivian president Evo Morales on Sunday said he would go on a hunger strike until the government agreed for dialogue with him.

He was on the third day of his hunger strike, which he began to get "international organizations or friendly governments" facilitating talks with his political rival, President Luis Arce.

Morales was ousted from office five years ago. Tensions have risen in the past few days as his supporters have blocked highways in protest of the government trying to revive a 2016 rape case against Morales.

Case against Morales

Morales is being investigated for statutory rape, human trafficking and human smuggling over an alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl in 2015.

The 65-year-old has denied any wrongdoing, and says the charges are being brought up to thwart his political comeback in the upcoming elections. 

He said he is being targeted because he belongs to the ethnic Aymara community. In 2006, he became the first Indigenous person to rule the Latin American nation, staying in office until 2019, when he resigned under pressure from the military after elections marked by allegations of fraud.

Protests against the government

Morales is currently accusing Bolivia's government of avoiding his requests for dialogue over protests against these charges. His supporters have started blocking roads since last month. 

The Bolivian government accused those protesters on Friday of holding soldiers hostage.

Morales has been living in Chapare, Bolivia's rural coca-growing region that serves as his stronghold.

"I asked for immediate dialogue... and the government's response was to arrest... comrades and take them to La Paz," he told the AFP news agency. 

"Luis Arce's response has been repression, an attempt on our lives, a judicial war and the taking of dozens of our comrades as hostages, transferring them to La Paz," he said in a post on X. 

During a protest in La Paz, some 3,000 security forces quelled protests using tear gas. Morales has called for the release of 66 people detained by the police during the protests.

"It's not that I, Evo, want to be president. The people have asked me to return. During my administration there was stability. When there is economic and political stability, there is happiness," he told the AP news agency.

Morales has also claimed he survived an assassination attempt against him last month.

Road blocking is a common protest method to cut off access in the country, which has a mountainous terrain. Government estimates have estimated losses of up to $2.1 billion (€1.93 billion) after 21 days of protests. 

Presidential aide Maria Nela Prada said the government has agreed to talk but only "to address issues that concern the executive branch and not other state bodies."

Morales resigned in 2019 after accusations of fraud after the elections. He was barred from running again, but wants to compete against his former ally Arce in the 2025 elections.

tg/jsi (AFP, AP)