BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - NOVEMBER 7: Former President of Bolivia Evo Morales holds a press conference on his return to Bolivia in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on November 7, 2020. ( Muhammed Emin Canik - Anadolu Agency )
BOGOTA, Colombia
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales announced Thursday that he plans to join the Frente para la Victoria (FPV) party and run as their presidential candidate in the country’s Aug. 17 elections.
The development comes amid a tumultuous period in Bolivian politics, with Morales at the center of a contentious split within the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, which he led for nearly three decades and that propelled him to the presidency from 2006 to 2019. His departure comes amid disagreements with his successor, President Luis Arce.
"We have the party to participate in this year's elections...Now with the FVP, we will win again," Morales said at a press conference held in the Tropico de Cochabamba, his political bastion, where he is protected by his followers to avoid an order of arrest in a human trafficking case, which stems from allegations of an improper relationship with a minor who became pregnant during his presidency.
Morales' eligibility to run for president is uncertain due to a previous ruling by the Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal that deemed him ineligible.
"We are doing everything to save Bolivia,” Morales said on the eve of a critical MAS meeting aimed at establishing the process for selecting official candidates for the upcoming elections.
Morales has been in Cochabamba since September, where he remains under the protection of his supporters, who claim to have established multiple "security rings" to prevent his arrest.
He has accused President Arce of attempting to kill him to prevent his candidacy in the elections.
