Bolivia’s Evo Morales tells AP he’ll press on with a hunger strike until his rival accepts dialogue

LAUCA Ñ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia’s transformative and divisive former President Evo Morales said Sunday that he would property connected pinch a hunger onslaught until nan authorities of his protégé-turned-rival agreed to a governmental dialogue. The act, exposing nan extent of nan Andean country’s divisions, intends to defuse nan protests complete Morales’ claims of governmental persecution that person paralyzed nan federation successful caller weeks.

Morales, a larger-than-life fig still towering complete Bolivian politics, said from nan misty tropics of Chapare, Bolivia’s agrarian coca-growing region that serves arsenic his stronghold.

“My conflict is to amended nan business successful nan state and to commencement a speech without conditions connected 2 fronts, 1 economical and 1 political,” Morales told The Associated Press from nan agency of nan coca growers’ federation that he has agelong led.

He said he began his hunger onslaught connected Friday successful hopes of “international organizations aliases friends governments” facilitating his outreach to his governmental nemesis, President Luis Arce.

Tensions person surged complete nan past 3 weeks since pro-Morales supporters erected crippling roadblocks aimed astatine rebuking Arce — nan ex-president’s erstwhile system curate pinch whom he’s vying to lead Bolivia’s governing socialist statement into adjacent year’s elections.

Calling for Arce’s resignation, nan protesters person besides sought to situation his government’s effort to revive a 2016 statutory rape lawsuit against Morales, an taste Aymara who was nan first personnel of an Indigenous organization to go nan president of Latin America’s only Indigenous-majority nation.

Morales has denied immoderate wrongdoing. “My crime is being Indigenous,” he said connected Sunday.

The AP reached Morales aft an arduous 11-hour travel by car, motorcycle and ft complete hills and done nan highlands, circumventing roadworthy blockades, crisscrossing routes littered pinch debris and squeaking done complete a twelve information checkpoints, successful immoderate cases parented by profiteers.

Roadblocks are a communal protestation maneuver successful Bolivia, wherever nan mountainous terrain intends a fewer strategically positioned checkpoints tin can isolate awesome cities and bring nan state to a halt.

Morales’ supporters have utilized it complete past decades to awesome effect and did truthful again this month, escalating unit connected Arce to return action against protesters who person marooned hundreds of thousands of residents successful nan highlands, raising fears of nutrient and gasoline shortages and hiking up already inflated prices successful awesome cities, moreover nan superior of La Paz.

“I spot group rising up moreover more,” said Eusebio Urbano, a husbandman protesting successful support of Morales astatine 1 of nan roadworthy blockades Sunday. “I don’t cognize what this authorities thinks. ... They don’t effort to lick anything. We’ll person to exert unit until it leaves.”

Last Friday, Arce’s authorities sent immoderate 3,000 constabulary officers equipped pinch tear state and backed by helicopters to break up nan blockades by force.

Senior Minister Eduardo Del Castillo said information forces had arrested dozens of protesters successful a crackdown that succeeded successful clearing nan roadworthy linking Cochabamba, Bolivia’s third-biggest city, and La Paz. He said information forces transferred complete 50 of them to pre-trial detention successful nan capital.

“What happened was very inhumane,” Morales said, adding that his refusal to eat was besides aimed astatine pressuring authorities to merchandise nan 66 detainees. “These are humble group who were presented arsenic terrorists.”

It was nan latest move successful Bolivia’s long-running governmental crisis, which escalated past week erstwhile gunmen ambushed Morales’ convoy successful what nan erstwhile president claimed was a government-led assassination attempt. Officials successful Arce’s authorities denied this, alleging that constabulary opened occurrence because Morales’ van had barreled done a information checkpoint.

“They’ve been utilizing immoderate maneuver they can, politically, legally, morally and now, to extremity my life physically,” Morales said.

From there, protests successful Morales’ defense only intensified. On Friday, Arce’s authorities accused his demonstrators of occupying subject barracks successful Chapare, a flashpoint for conflict since nan U.S.-backed warfare connected narcotics successful nan 1990s. Authorities said that protesters seized weapons and held immoderate 200 soldiers hostage Friday.

Morales and his supporters rejected reports of a convulsive hostage situation, pinch nan leader’s Kausachun Coca power position airing footage that showed protesting national members and soldiers negotiating calmly while munching connected coca leaves.

“Please, it’s not a take-over of subject barracks,” Morales said. “They are vigils until their economical and governmental demands are met.”

Del Castillo, nan minister, said Sunday that nan authorities is, successful principle, unfastened to speech pinch Morales. But he said authorities didn’t spot his motives.

“Morales doesn’t attraction astir nan country, he cares astir himself. He is looking for caller confrontations,” said Del Castillo. “Morales has a full book to destabilize nan government.”

The surge successful tensions comes against nan backdrop of a bitter rift astatine nan highest rungs of Bolivia’s long-dominant Movement Toward Socialism party, which deepened past period erstwhile authorities announced their volition to apprehension Morales connected charges that he fathered a girl pinch a 15-year-old woman successful 2016 erstwhile he was 56 years aged and president.

Morales and his supporters person decried nan lawsuit arsenic a governmental witch hunt aimed astatine blocking his candidacy successful nan 2025 election.

Arce insists that nan existent constitution — which permits conscionable 2 consecutive position — forbids Morales, who held powerfulness from 2006-2019, from moving adjacent year, anyway.

“It is simply a betrayal of nan people, of nan statement activists, of nan revolution,” Morales said of Arce’s efforts to undercut him.

In neighboring Argentina, nan authorities of far-right President Javier Milei connected Saturday announced it had lodged a title accusing Morales of kid maltreatment committed during nan erstwhile president’s monthslong governmental exile successful Argentina, from 2019 to 2020.

At that time, allegations of predetermination fraud sparked wide protests that led Morales to resign nether unit from nan subject and fly to Mexico earlier seeking asylum successful Argentina — an ouster that Morales and his supporters position arsenic a coup.

Now, years later, Morales — who continues to evince aggravated support from nan Indigenous organization — has seized upon increasing discontent pinch his chosen successor.

“It’s not that I, Evo, want to beryllium president, nan group person asked maine to return,” Morales said. “During my management location was stability. When location is economical and governmental stability, location is happiness.”

Many successful nan state person soured connected Arce complete nan illness of Bolivia’s once-growing system built connected inexpensive dollars and fuel. They look backmost fondly connected nan tenure of Morales, credited pinch lifting millions retired of poorness and drastically narrowing Bolivia’s wealthiness disagreement during nan nation’s earthy state boom.

“Now pinch much experience, we are fresh to prevention Bolivia,” Morales said, promising he would revive nan flailing system by having Bolivia subordinate BRICS, a group of emerging economies seeking to antagonistic Western power of nan world order, and collaborating much intimately pinch China.

The erstwhile president, now 65, isn’t judge really agelong his hunger onslaught will last. But he said he’s prepared for nan deprivation.

“I do a batch of sports,” Morales said. “Today I woke up astatine 4 a.m. and did 1,015 sit-ups.”

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DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press journalist Carlos Guerrero successful Lauca Ñ, Bolivia, contributed to this report.