Bolivia: Arce blasts Evo in farewell message
Saturday, November 8th 2025 – 10:35 UTC
Arce announced that he would now pursue legal action from a private citizen’s standpoint
Outgoing Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora delivered his final address to the nation from the Casa Grande del Pueblo on Friday morning, launching a blistering attack on former President Evo Morales, whom he squarely blamed for the electoral defeat and the current state of the nation’s political movement.
Flanked by his cabinet and outgoing Vice President David Choquehuanca, Arce acknowledged the failures of his administration, stating, Rarely in our history have we seen the twilight of such a profound social process as the one we promoted in recent years.
The departing leader stated that his government advanced, did not succumb, did not bend, and managed to preserve social peace and democracy despite adversity. However, he identified the greatest political misstep as the division within the ruling Movement Towards Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (MAS-IPSP).
From a political point of view, I am convinced that there was no greater error from all actors than the division of the political instrument, the division of the MAS-IPSP… all and every one of the actors should have strived more to preserve unity, Arce asserted.
His failure to seek a new presidential candidacy, he claimed, was precisely to preserve this unity, but the effort was in vain. He lamented that internal disputes quickly went public and lost all ideological orientation, reaching a point where some factions preferred to make a pact with the right wing.
It would not be an exaggeration to affirm that the process of change was wounded mortally, he continued, and that from the different factions, we contributed to the electoral defeat in August, giving way to the right wing.
Arce, who served as Morales’s economy minister, directly implicated his former boss, stating that divisions began to appear in late 2022 due to Evo Morales’ lust for power. He accused Morales of needing to destroy the current administration’s achievements to make himself look good.
He does not see himself in any space other than the presidential chair, and to impose his candidacy and remain relevant, he needed to destroy an administration so that it would not be remembered for its achievements… He intends for the people to yearn for him as the sole savior of Bolivia. Furthermore, Arce claimed that Morales never tolerated me not being a puppet, nor did he tolerate new leaders emerging and the MAS-IPSP becoming democratized.
The outgoing President condemned what he described as systematic attacks from the Evista wing (Morales’s supporters) aimed at destroying him politically, professionally, and personally.
Arce announced that he would now pursue legal action from a private citizen’s standpoint to seek rectification for the many slanders, many lies he had previously tolerated while in office. He also pointed out the negative economic and social consequences of the division, noting that the Evista faction, in alliance with the traditional opposition, blocked key legislation in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. This included credits needed for currency flow and fuel imports, as well as social laws, such as one concerning the imprescriptibility of sexual crimes against minors.
This message came on the eve of the inauguration of President-elect Rodrigo Paz, who won the August runoff election after the fractured MAS-IPSP was eliminated in the first round.
