Bolivia's Morales launches 4th presidential bid, defying term limit

by Gonzalo TORRICO

Bolivian ex-president Evo Morales launched a fresh election bid Thursday ahead of polls in August, in defiance of a constitutional term limit and pending criminal charges.

"We will win," Morales told reporters in his political fiefdom of Cochabamba in central Bolivia in announcing his run.

Morales, 65, claims to be the victim of a campaign to sideline him politically, led by incumbent President Luis Arce who was once an ally but now his main rival.

Morales is the subject of an arrest warrant in an ongoing investigation into claims he had a sexual relationship with a teenage girl while in office from 2006 to 2019.

Rising from dire poverty to become Bolivia's first-ever Indigenous president, he retains a large following in the South American country.

His refusal to give up power in 2019 led to a tumultuous exit that cast a shadow over nearly 14 years of economic progress and poverty reduction.

Courts have since upheld Bolivia's constitutional two-term limit, which Morales had previously managed to evade due to a change to the rules during his first term.

He said Thursday he would seek re-election with a party other than the left-wing MAS he and Arce have both represented.

Instead, he will run on the ticket of a small leftist group named "The Front for Victory" that has no seats in parliament.

Amid the tussle between Morales and Arce -- who has not said whether he will seek reelection -- Bolivia is also battling a severe economic crisis with inflation at its highest in nearly two decades and a ballooning fiscal deficit.

With biting shortages of foreign currency, fuel, medicine and food, prices have soared, prompting numerous protests.

Morales has remained holed up in Cochabamba since a warrant was issued in December for his arrest on charges of "human trafficking involving a minor."

Last year, the ex-president's mostly Indigenous supporters barricaded highways leading to Cochabamba to prevent his threatened arrest.

© Agence France-Presse