Morales threatens to bring Bolivia to a ‘standstill’ if he is arrested on rape charges

Former Bolivian president Evo Morales is threatening to “bring the country to a standstill” if the prosecutor’s office complies with an arrest warrant against him to testify in a case of human trafficking and statutory rape. “We will mobilize and shut down the highways,” said the former president during his speech before his followers in Sacaba, in the central region of Cochabamba, in commemoration of ‘Decolonization Day’, on Saturday.

Former Bolivian president Evo Morales speaking to supporters last week.

The leaders of the social organizations that support Morales also warned they would mount massive protests if the arrest warrant is issued.

Last Thursday, Morales failed to appear for questioning by prosecutors over allegations he raped a teenage girl when he was in power. He claimed his personal safety would be in jeopardy if he complied with the order.

The 64-year-old is accused of rape, human trafficking and human smuggling over his alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old member of his political youth guard in 2015. In 2016, the girl gave birth to a daughter, whom Morales is accused of fathering.

He could face arrest for refusing the summons by the prosecutor’s office in the southern Tarija department.

His lawyer said Morales considered the probe “illegal,” arguing that an investigation in 2020 into the same claims was closed for lack of evidence.

The Tarija prosecutor who reopened the case expanded it to include human trafficking and smuggling over suspicions that the girl’s parents enrolled her in his youth wing with the aim of political advancement and personal gain.

Morales, who was elected Bolivia’s first Indigenous president in 2006, claims the allegations were fabricated by the government of his arch-rival, current president Luis Arce, to try to discredit him.

“The traitor government has unleashed a judicial war, criminalized social protest and persecuted the political opposition to try to outlaw us,” Morales said.

He and Arce are vying for the nomination of the ruling MAS party in August 2025 presidential elections, despite Morales being legally barred from running again.

Last month, Morales led a week-long march by thousands of mostly Indigenous Bolivians on the capital La Paz to protest Arce’s policies.

The former coca grower, who served as president from 2006 until 2019, was highly popular in the Andean country until he tried to bypass the constitution to seek a fourth term.

He was forced to resign after losing the support of the military following an election marked by allegations of fraud.
Arce served as his finance minister for more than a decade but the pair later fell out.
________________

Credit: Agence France Presse