Luis Arce changed the direction of the armed forces | …

The President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, has changed the whole direction of the armed forces with the complex challenge of the people trusting them again. To the military who took office in a ceremony at the Casa Grande del Pueblo, Arce demanded that they “respect democratic processes” violated by a fierce repression under the de facto government led by Jeanine Áñez. The armed forces as well they were one actor key to the strong pressure that led to the overthrow of former president Evo Morales.

Arce stressed that the new military caste should focus on “capacity building” and “interoperability” in areas such as risk management from natural disasters, combating drug trafficking and border security. . Jaime Zabala, who was sworn in as the new commander-in-chief of the armed forces, called on Bolivians to put aside hatred and intolerance.

During the inauguration of the new military high command, Arce pleaded for an Army “in solidarity with the people” and capable of “guaranteeing the stability of our government elected by sovereign will” during the elections of October 18th. “Today we have the great challenge that the Bolivian people once again trust the armed forces.. We are convinced that by working together we will achieve this goal and move forward to overcome the crisis and restore hope to the Bolivian people, ”said the president.

“We would like to publicly express our gratitude to the members of the armed forces who have contributed in a time of complex, desolate and atypical political situation,” noted Arce, who recalled the names of David Toro, Germán Busch and Gualberto Villarroel , which he defined as “great military leaders whose participation was decisive because they underwent deep processes of structural change which remain in the collective memory of the people”.

Following the line of the President of Bolivia, the new commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Jaime Zabala, declared: “It’s time to give our country a chance, we were attacked by nature with the fires of 2019, we have been plunged into political, social and economic instability, and we continue to be attacked by covid-19. “In this context, Zabala presented” national unity, stability, collective interest and integration “as a means of leaving behind” hatred and intolerance.

To reinforce his remarks, Zabala cited certain parts of the Political Constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, such as article 245, which states that “ the organization of the armed forces is based on its hierarchy and its military discipline, they are subject to its military laws and regulations. Yes as a fundamental and institutional body, it does not carry out political action in the state “.

The all-new Commander-in-Chief called Arce as “brother” and paraphrased his words in the possession deed of November 8: “Correct what was wrong and find out what was right.” In addition to the aforementioned Zabala, Miguel Ángel Contreras was appointed Chief of Staff, Faut Ramos Espinoza as General Commander of the Army, César Moisés Vallejos as General Commander of the Air Force and Javier Torrico Vega as Commander general of the navy.

In November 2019, the then president Evo Morales he had to leave the country amid a series of violent protests over alleged fraud (denounced by the OAS but never verified) in the October elections last year. In them, Morales got enough votes to revalidate his tenure, but after losing support from the police and the army, which sparked strong protests from far-right sectors, resigned from office to avoid further bloodshed.

Despite a very low voting intention, Jeanine Áñez was fortunate enough to hold the post of Second Deputy Speaker of the Senate when the coup against Morales was rushed. In this way, he assumed the transitional presidency of Bolivia on November 12 of last year. During his one-year tenure, he had one of his strongest arms in the military.

Áñez’s first gesture of gratitude was the signing of Supreme Decree 4078 with which he authorized the armed forces to carry out operations to restore public order, exonerating the army from any criminal liability. The military (along with the Bolivian police) carried out the Sacaba and Senkata massacres using this controversial decree, which was later repealed due to the harsh criticism it received. Following the crackdown by the security forces, 37 people lost their lives.

In July, Áñez approved by decree the promotion of generals of the armed forces without consulting the Legislative Assembly, the power of the state responsible for these decisions. And just two weeks before the general election, facto-de-bolivia-homage-aux-soldiers-qu “> Áñez led an act of homage to the soldiers who killed Ernesto” Che “Guevara 53 years ago, which he called a “hero”. Without a doubt, the new president Luis Arce will face a formidable challenge when it comes to rebuilding a military caste which in the recent past was characterized by its reactionary and undemocratic condition.