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Straits Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Bolivian congress brawls over China, Russia lithium deals
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox LA PAZ - Bolivia's energy minister was doused with water and pelted with garbage on Thursday as chaos erupted in congress during a debate on controversial lithium contracts with Chinese and Russian firms that could bring in investments worth some $2 billion. It was the latest outburst of growing tension over Bolivia's efforts to fast-track foreign investment to exploit its lithium reserves, which are among the largest in the world. Opposition lawmakers and others loyal to former President Evo Morales disrupted the lower house session that targeted Energy Minister Alejandro Gallardo as he tried to defend the pending contracts. "They are trying to swindle us," said opposition lawmaker Daniel Rojas, one of those opposing the contracts they say are unfavorable to the state, and demanding that profits for Bolivia be secured before the lithium is sold. Thursday's session devolved into scuffles, with lawmakers pushing, shouting and throwing stacks of paper at congressional leaders. Video images showed an opposition lawmaker, Maria Salazar, tussling with another member, while a lawmaker later tore away an umbrella from a chamber leader using it to try and bat away the barrage. Legislators and civic leaders from the mineral-rich Potosi region, home to Bolivia's vast lithium deposits, joined the protest. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4 Asia Japan urges evacuation of small island as 1,000 quakes hit region World Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending Bill wins congressional approval World Trump eyes simple tariff rates over complex talks, says letters will start going out on July 4 Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Singapore Universities like NUS need to be open, to become a sanctuary for global talent: Vivian Balakrishnan Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow "We warn (President) Luis Arce, (and) the leader of the lower house, if you continue insisting on this illegal and unconstitutional process, you will be met with a mobilized population," said opposition lawmaker Lissa Claros. Protesters said they feared the deals would not benefit local communities and would cause environmental damage. "We want conditions so that the local people ... can have a dignified life," said Alberto Perez Ramos, president of the Potosi Civic Committee (COMCIPO). "The government isn't interested in that; the government is only interested in its own pockets." REUTERS
Eyewitness News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Bolivia policemen killed in clashes with Morales backers
LA PAZ - Clashes Wednesday between followers of Bolivian ex-president Evo Morales and police clearing roadblocks left two officers dead and several wounded, the government said. Supporters of Morales, who led the Andean country from 2006 to 2019, began blocking key roads on 2 June over electoral authorities' refusal to allow him to run for a fourth term in 17 August elections. The protests have since snowballed into a wider revolt over President Luis Arce's handling of a deep economic crisis, marked by severe shortages of hard currency and fuel. On Wednesday, two officers were killed in Llallagua, a mining town in Bolivia's southwest, and several injured - one seriously, according to Minister of Government Roberto Rios. The policemen "were vilely murdered by gunshots," he wrote on Facebook. At least 15 civilians and two police officers were injured in a violent confrontation in the same town the previous day. More officers were injured Wednesday at other roadblocks on the road connecting La Paz with Cochabamba, Morales' political stronghold. Health Minister Maria Rene Castro said two police officers were injured in the locality of Parotani, one by "an explosive object." Protest leader David Veizaga, an ally of Morales, claimed the military and police were under orders to use their firearms. "Let the government of Luis Arce order the withdrawal of police and military units so as not to stain their hands with blood," he told Bolivian media. 'SUBMISSION THROUGH HUNGER' The national roads authority counted 21 roadblocks across the country Wednesday, down from 29 the day before. Morales, 65, has been barred by the Constitutional Court from seeking re-election but nevertheless attempted, in vain, to register as a candidate last month. The government accuses him of trying to sabotage the election by calling for blockades to sow chaos. The protesters' goal "is to encircle La Paz to force it into submission through hunger," President Arce said Wednesday as he announced a joint police and military operation to clear a major highway, with more to follow. On Monday, the attorney general said Morales was under investigation for "terrorism" for allegedly inciting the protests. Bolivia's first Indigenous president has been holed up in his central stronghold in the Cochabamba department since October to avoid arrest on charges of trafficking a minor. The charges relate to Morales's alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old with whom he is accused of fathering a child while in office. He denies the charges. Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous president and one of Latin America's longest-serving leaders, resigned under a cloud in 2019 after seeking to extend his 13-year grip on power. Since then, the Constitutional Court has upheld Bolivia's two-term limit, which Morales previously managed to evade. He retains a large following in the South American country, particularly among Indigenous communities.
The Sun
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Bolivian ex-president Morales facing ‘terrorism' probe
LA PAZ: Bolivia's attorney general said Monday he had opened a 'terrorism' probe into ex-president Evo Morales for allegedly ordering his supporters to block roads after he was banned from contesting August elections. Roger Mariaca told reporters his office had decided to 'admit this accusation' filed by the government against Morales, whose supporters cut off supplies to La Paz for several days this month. Morales, one of Latin America's longest-serving leaders, resigned under a cloud in 2019 after seeking to extend his 13-year grip on power. Since then, the Constitutional Court has upheld Bolivia's two-term limit, which Morales previously managed to evade. And last month, electoral officials rejected his bid to register himself as a candidate in spite of the constitutional ban. Morales is also wanted on charges of trafficking a minor after allegedly fathering a daughter with a teenager in 2015. Last week, Bolivian Justice Minister Cesar Siles said the government had filed a complaint against the ex-president for 'terrorism, public incitement to crime and attacks on the security of public services' over the campaign of roadblocks the government said caused daily losses of up to $150 million. A leaked audio message appeared to capture Morales calling on his supporters in the country's agricultural heartland to shut down two key roads leading to La Paz. Morales claims to be the victim of judicial persecution.
07-06-2025
- Politics
Bolivia reinstates a leftist challenger but keeps former leader Morales off the ballot
LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Bolivia's electoral tribunal on Friday included leftist Senate leader Andrónico Rodríguez on the list of presidential candidates approved for the ballot but excluded the powerful former socialist leader Evo Morales — the other major thorn in the president's side. As tensions escalate in the run-up to Bolivia's Aug. 17 elections, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reinstated Rodríguez, a 36-year-old political upstart with close ties to Morales and roots in the ex-president's rural coca-growing stronghold, weeks after suspending his candidacy on technical grounds in a decision that shocked many Bolivians. 'We are the candidate of the people,' Rodríguez said in a speech welcoming the revival of his campaign. 'Our primary concern has been to wage the legal battle, and in the end, the power of the people had to prevail.' With the ruling Movement Toward Socialism party, or MAS, riven by dysfunction and division over President Luis Arce's power struggle with his former mentor, Morales, supporters of the senate leader see him as the only chance for MAS to beat the right-wing opposition and salvage its decades-long political dominance. President Arce, widely blamed for accelerating Bolivia's worst economic crisis in 40 years, dropped out of the race last month. Opinion polls show that his pick for the presidency, senior minister Eduardo del Castillo, has inherited the president's unpopularity. Arce's government insists that its main rival, Morales, is constitutionally barred from running. Morales accuses Arce of waging a 'judicial war' against him. In leaving out Morales, the tribunal opened the potential for further turmoil: Morales has called on his supporters to take to the streets to demand his eligibility. Over the last week his followers have blockaded some of the main roads around the country, adding to a sense of crisis as merchants and truckers rise up in outrage over surging food prices and severe fuel shortages. Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, has been holed up in the country's tropics for months, surrounded by fiercely loyal coca-farmers, as Arce's government seeks his arrest on charges relating to his sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl. A constitutional court filled with judges beholden to Arce has disputed the legality of Morales' fourth candidacy and barred him from the contest. 'The constitutional court acts like a sniper ... restricting and enabling electoral participation upon request,' he said in response to his disqualification. 'The order is clear: Hand over the government to the right and legitimize the election with negotiated candidates who will protect their backs.' Morales, whose own loyalists packed the same court when he was president, points to an earlier court ruling that paved the way for his 2019 presidential campaign, that said it would violate his human rights to stop him running. Morales' bid that year for an unprecedented fourth term ultimately sparked mass protests and led to his resignation and brief self-exile. The conservative opposition to MAS is also fractured, with at least three right-of-center candidates vying for the presidency and no clear frontrunner. All of them are little-known abroad but well-known within Bolivia, where they have run for president or served in government in the past: Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, former president from 2001-2002, Samuel Doria Medina, a former cement tycoon and planning minister, and Manfred Reyes Villa, the mayor of Bolivia's major central city of Cochabamba.
Straits Times
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Bolivia leftist Rodriguez back in presidential race; Morales kept out
Bolivia's presidential candidate Andronico Rodriguez gestures as he and vice presidential candidate Mariana Prado (not pictured) announce their candidacy under the Popular Alliance during an event at a hotel in La Paz, Bolivia May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Morales/File Photo LA PAZ - Bolivian Senate leader Andronico Rodriguez is eligible to run in the nation's presidential elections later this year, a constitutional court confirmed on Thursday, while former President Evo Morales remains out of the running. Rodriguez, a leftist leader who has received backing from current President Luis Arce, had difficulties registering his party in the race. Morales, meanwhile, is constitutionally barred from running, though he has called for his supporters to take to the streets to demand his eligibility. Rodriguez's "Third System" party can participate in August's elections, the court ruled on Thursday. A recent Ipsos CIESMORI poll showed him as the leading contender for the left, after opposition candidates Samuel Doria, a businessman and economist, and conservative ex-President Jorge Quiroga. Morales, who has lost much of his political clout as he remains locked away in a compound guarded by his supporters in rural Bolivia to evade a warrant out for his arrest, on Thursday insisted that he will return to once again lead the country. Courts have repeatedly ruled that Morales, who has already served three terms as president, is ineligible to run for another term. "We again ask political actors to not try and judicialize the electoral process," senior judge Rene Yvan Espada said in a press conference. "We want to invite Bolivian citizens... to follow through on their responsibility to carry out these elections with the upmost normality, harmony and peace possible," he added. Morales has taken advantage of the waning popularity of Arce, once Morales' mentee, due to rising living costs, political infighting and long lines for petrol supplies, all of which have fueled recent protests and street blockades. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
