The recent attempted assassination of Evo Morales is part of a larger attempt by the U.S. to strengthen its control over the natural resources of the region.
Clau O’Brien Moscoso met with Morales to discuss the events of that day, the history of U.S. intervention in Latin America, SOUTHCOM, Bolivia’s right-wing opposition, and more.
In the early morning hours of October 27, 2024, unmarked cars shot at the car that was transporting former president of the Plurinational state of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma, in an attempted assassination in Villa Tunari, Chapare, Cochabamba as he was making his way to the Radio Kawsachun Coca that hosts his Sunday morning shows. Immediately speculations arose that implicated the military, a possible DEA agent , the Interior Minister , the internal right wing that participated in the U.S. backed 2019 coup, the media, and the courts, among others. Since then, at least 100 union leaders and MAS members have been persecuted and illegally arrested for having taking part in the “March to Save Bolivia” which saw over 3 million Bolivians marching with Movimiento al Socialismo – Instrumento Político por la Soberanía de los Pueblos (Movement towards Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples / MAS-IPSP). Party leader Evo Morales called for the resignation of current President Luis Arce and his former Finance Minister over a deepening of the economic crisis with 9.5% inflation rate and an escalating lawfare campaign against Evo meant to disqualify him from running in next year’s elections. What started as a split in the party’s leadership has now intensified to accusations of the government of Luis Arce politically persecuting his political opponent (Arce was expelled at MAS’s 10th Congress in Lauca Ñ in October 2023 while the Constitutional Court ruled in December 2023 that Morales may not serve another presidential term) and now Arce’s possible involvement in an attempted assassination. As Bolivia’s heads into 2025 with elections scheduled to take place in August, this crisis threatens to unseat the leftist Movement Towards Socialism party and makes way for the right wing or neoliberals and the US that has been itching for access to Bolivia’s lithium .
On November 18th, Radio Kawsachun Coca hosted an international press conference with documentation and videos detailing the events of October 27th. Black Agenda Report was among the many international and independent outlets invited. This interview was conducted virtually two weeks later on November 30th in an exclusive with Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales.
Claudia O’Brien: I wanted to start by asking if you could elaborate a bit more on the events of Oct 27, while you were heading to your Sunday radio program. At the recent press conference, not only was the government of current President of Bolivia Luis Arce implicated, but so was the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Could you talk a bit more about that?
Evo Morales: Let’s see. According to the interview with ABI (Bolivian Information Agency) , in La Paz on April 18th, 2024 near the U.S. Embassy, through the Center for Multidisciplinary Geopolitical Studies there is evidence of a new U.S. plan to carry out the recolonization of Latin America. Regarding Bolivia, the plan focuses on consolidating the split between MAS-IPSP and creating an opposition candidate for early 2025, aiming to seize natural resources like lithium and rare earth elements. As for information from the U.S. Embassy, there is no actual embassy here, only a chargé d’affaires, Debra Hevia. There’s an audio—or rather, a video—that hasn’t been transcribed, (but in which she says) “We’ve been working for some time to bring about change in Bolivia. Time is vital for us, but for it to be real change, Evo must step down and close that chapter. From now on, we will engage more directly with our embassy to strengthen our allies, organizations, and collaborators. For example our embassy has always offered scholarships to go to Bolivia.” In other words, it’s a new U.S. plan, likely using the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to re-establish a presence in Latin America, from Bolivia.
On November 20, 2022, Donald Trump said to conservatives gathered in Mexico that we must stop the expansion of socialism in Latin America. The exact quote was: “We must stop the expansion of socialism and simply not allow it to continue sweeping across the region or our land.” So, the region is considered Donald Trump’s “land,” isn’t it? He continued: “We must build our economies, we must rebuild our economies to support our workers and our families.”
The mix-up here seems clear—Trump’s view equates Latin America as part of “his land,” implying ownership or dominance. For him, his “family” includes his workers, and by extension, Latin America falls under his sphere of interest. This perception likely stems from the political shifts in the region, with leaders like Gustavo Petro in Colombia and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil winning elections, signaling a leftward turn in Latin America.
As you mentioned, it’s worth continuing to review press clippings and other sources, especially concerning SOUTHCOM, which plays a strategic role in U.S. influence in the region. On February 4, 2023, General Laura Richardson stated, and I quote: “The natural resources are available for our needs…” She also said, “If these countries only produced radishes, nothing would happen to them.” On March 11, 2023, the United States raised concerns about the maritime activities of its adversaries in the Lithium Triangle, comprising Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
Here you have “Donald Trump praised the removal of Evo Morales after military pressure”, effectively calling it a coup. For many, this wasn’t surprising, given the history of U.S. involvement in Bolivian politics. Such actions tie back to earlier interventions, such as those documented between 2002 and 2004.
This headline reads: “More than (Fidel) Castro, the United States is concerned about Evo Morales.” Subheadline: “George Bush is alarmed by the idea of the coca growing leader becoming president of Bolivia.” This was from 2002, highlighting the significant concern the U.S. had regarding Morales’ potential rise to power.
Another notable moment came when Ambassador Rocha, in 2002, urged Bolivians “not to vote for Evo Morales.” He warned that if Morales were elected, there would be no cooperation or investment from the U.S. However, this warning backfired, effectively boosting Morales’ political support. The day Rocha said not to vote for Evo Morales, he effectively became my campaign manager. The reason is clear: the United States exerted pressure on the electorate to prevent Evo Morales from winning the presidency. On June 27, 2002, the U.S. once again intervened, warning that it would suspend aid if Morales came to power.
That is to say, we have been victims of the United States. I can provide many more documents that we have around. What is the crime of the Bolivian people? Having so many natural resources, hydrocarbons, minerals, gold, the lithium. And rare earth elements are trendy now.
However, the three doctrines of the United States—Monroe Doctrine of 1823, “America for the Americans,” Manifest Destiny of 1845, and now the National Security Doctrine. With the Monroe Doctrine, the U.S. plans, since the Cold War, there cannot be any Latin American and Caribbean governments with humanist, socialist, progressive, and much less anti-imperialist tendencies. How many countries do we have in Latin America that could be considered anti-imperialist, socialist, or progressive humanist governments? The U.S. is increasingly losing this battle.
The U.S. has stated, and let’s not forget, the Condor Plan.[1] It failed, and now I would say we are witnessing the second Condor Plan. But today, it is not carried out by the military, but by judges and prosecutors, what they call lawfare. This is happening in Bolivia, just as it happened in Argentina, Ecuador, and also with Lula in Brazil.
With Manifest Destiny, the United States believed that God had sent them to bless them with the mission of dominating the world. The idea was that some countries were meant to be “liberated,” but this is a mistake. The U.S. still tries to control through military bases, military interventions, and coups, using NATO as a tool. For me, the United States is no longer an economic power.
Although it remains a military power through NATO, or NATO as the U.S. Ministry of Defense, I believe the U.S. is losing in Ukraine. If Crimea is controlled by Russia, as the press reports, then Russia is conquering a strategic place that connects the Pacific and Atlantic, East and West. In the end, any country has the right to stand up for itself in the face of NATO’s encirclement. But the most interesting thing is the National Security Doctrine.
When we in Bolivia nationalized hydrocarbons, electricity, and telecommunications, we were directly challenging U.S. security interests. The processes of economic liberation and achieving economic sovereignty have made giant strides. They can’t forgive me for that. Because, from a union perspective and socially, I couldn’t close the military base. With union power, I couldn’t nationalize. We built political movements from the indigenous movement. We came to power through electoral power, and with that political power, we guaranteed Bolivia’s sovereignty. We closed the military base. In 2008, the U.S. ambassador was financing actions against the new government, working to undermine the president, who was set to expel the U.S. ambassador.
We ousted the DEA. They can’t forgive me for that. And now comes the political persecution that the United States is leading.
Unfortunately, the government, the right-wing, and the media are involved. My grandfather, Túpac Katari, was dismembered by four Spanish horses. And now, those four horses from Spain have been replaced by the empire, the Bolivian right-wing, the media, and the government. Even though things were better, better than before, politically.
And well, with such a powerful state apparatus, the media, and the support from the United States, how can we not be strong? We are first in the polls to win the elections. We organized a march to save Bolivia in September of this year, and by my count, it was the largest march, it was two million people. Bolivia has twelve million inhabitants, according to the latest census. So, two million people participated—quite a large number. I marched with a thousand, a thousand five hundred, or five hundred people at times. And what does it say? According to Electoral Atlas, the march, called Marcha para Salvar Bolivia (March to Save Bolivia), led by former President Evo Morales, managed to gather 3.4 million people.
We are the poll, the analysis of the study. The march ended in September, and then the legal processes began—I have 15 ongoing cases. With so many lies. They haven’t been able to morally, ethically, or legally destroy me. I haven’t lost anything politically.
They attempted to end my life. Physically, they didn’t succeed either. By a miracle, I was saved. God, Mother Earth, and my parents, may they rest in peace, saved me. Then, they said, “Evo is disqualified from being a candidate.”
They used two coup-supporting magistrates, harmful magistrates. According to the constitution, there is no extension or self-extension of mandates. It’s a coup. The term of these magistrates ended on December 31 of last year. Now, they self-proclaim to issue constitutional rulings.
They also steal at this moment, but they won’t steal our hope. They won’t steal our revolutionary conviction. They won’t steal our ideological principles.
The struggle will continue. So, we find ourselves in this situation, sister Claudia, and I just came from a meeting with five hundred leaders. Yesterday they brought so many people, tomorrow another meeting will take place.
According to information from the government, on Wednesday they had met and evaluated the situation. How are we doing, how are we managing Evo? Political and legal advisors have said I’ve grown a lot because of the persecution. They are worried, regretful. And according to the polls, we are the first ones. But in some, they don’t include me in the poll, that’s where the right wins. But when they include me in the poll, it’s always Evo first. If I weren’t a candidate, there would be no processes against me. This is the reality we are living.
CO: And, well, speaking a bit more about the current government of Arce, it seems now he is opening up free trade for fuels, right? What do you think about his economic policies? How is he trying to alleviate the economic crisis? And politically, is there a disconnect between current economic policy and the ideology that is part of the MAS?
EM: I agree with how you phrase this. I understand Lucho (Luis Arce) – there’s no difference in personal management, but there are ideological, programmatic, and ethical differences.
On November 8, 2020, he was sworn in as president. On November 9, he swore in his cabinet and reduced four ministries: sports, communication, culture, and energy. How can you reduce the Ministry of Culture?
The Ministry of Energy was supposed to change the energy matrix and accelerate investment in lithium, putting it in the hands of the Bolivian state. But nothing happened. You know very well the recipe of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund: reduce the state, shrink the state, a minimal state. That minimal state doesn’t invest; it only regulates. And who invests?
The transnationals, the privatization schemes. Furthermore, economic contraction policies are implemented. There is no economic growth. These are the results. Regarding the collaboration on hydrocarbons, last year, read my tweet on April 10th . I said that the exaggerated fuel subsidies are a cancer for the economy. The next day, Lucho responded, saying that the subsidy would not be touched.
What would I do if I were Lucho, the president? Would it be gradually or sector by sector how to lower the subsidy? But with the people, everything with the people, nothing without the people. And if we start removing the subsidy, we must accompany it with social programs and productive programs. Even for agriculture, for all food, I would reduce the VAT by fifty percent or maybe even zero percent. We need to study that. When you talk to me about new economic policies, what would I do? A tax reform. With this tax reform, how would I guarantee national and international investment? I would do it through a law, the Law of Legal Security, through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).
So, the only way to save Bolivia right now is through a national meeting. Entrepreneurs, political actors, social movements with state, national, departmental, and municipal representation. Everyone must contribute to our beloved Bolivia. That’s what I did. I met with the opposition, with governors, and that’s why I broke my record. Almost fourteen years as president, I was just a month and a half away from completing fourteen years in office.
No president in the history of the republic has served fourteen years as president. I have always worked with the people, for the people. What does politics mean to me? It is the science of service, effort, and fundamentally sacrifice for humble people.
I come from deep Bolivia, from very humble beginnings. I’ve lived—how does one live? How does one sleep? When you’re hungry, when you sleep with hunger, you dream of food, you’re cooking food in your dreams.
I don’t want to be that hungry child from back then. I reached the presidency without academic training, thanks to the truth and thanks to honesty. I never gave up, I never surrendered. And now, it’s all about privileges, privileges, privileges. That’s what we are living right now.
So, comrade, I feel proud that despite the supposed persecution from my government, from the one I made president, from my minister of finance or economics—everyone doesn’t understand what that is, Price—but it doesn’t matter. The polls guide me a lot and in all the polls, I am first.
CO: CELAC’s call in 2014 for Latin America to be recognized as a zone of peace seems particularly relevant today, considering the increasing U.S. military presence, especially in the Lithium Triangle that includes Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, and now also extends to Peru. SOUTHCOM’s presence in Peru, including joint exercises with NATO forces and the establishment of military bases along the Pacific coast, including a Space Command in Talara, Piura, and within the Amazon and mining corridor signals a disturbing trend. This militarization seems to be part of a broader geopolitical strategy to control vital resources, such as lithium and rare earth minerals, and to exert influence over the region. The Zone of Peace campaign, which Black Alliance for Peace along with key partner organizations launched on April 4, 2023, is an important response to this growing militarization and imperialism. It provides a platform for anti-imperialist movements to come together, and that’s vital for defending the sovereignty of Latin America. How do you see the potential of these movements in Latin America to resist external influence and militarization, especially with the growing interest in the region’s resources?
EM: What different things can we do, right? To understand what the enemy is doing and what our objectives are. I don’t lose hope that in South America, we will return to the times of Chávez, Kirchner, Correa, Lula. One doesn’t lose hope, right? And Bolivia is the center of South America, it is so important for South America, and here we have to fight a tough battle, a tough battle to guarantee the liberation of the people.
A lot also depends on the economic policies that we can implement in each country. Thirty, forty, twenty percent will be militants. Other people move based on economic proposals, economic policies, social programs, productive programs, as a former president, I know a little. However, there is transparent administration based on indigenous wisdom- Ama sua, ama llulla y ama quella . Don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t be a focus.
I did that from the presidency. For me, there is no time for Saturdays and Sundays. On New Year’s, delivering (public) works. Taking advantage of holidays, delivering (public) works because there were thousands and thousands of projects. And the people expect, visit, approve new works. I miss that.
So, from the empire, when we created UNASUR , Obama created the Pacific Alliance to continue policies from the North. When it was created with Fidel, even CELAC. The United States organized the Lima Group to combat Chávez, to combat Maduro.
But at this moment, there is no real Pacific Alliance, right? Where is the Lima Group? And there is, I would say, between the empire and the people, we are stuck. That is my assessment, but it would be totally different with Chávez or with Lula, but especially with Ecuador, more with Argentina. Argentina needs to recover. Unfortunately, this political war, the political persecution orchestrated by the United States, is worrying. So, in my experience as a union leader, I only believe in the union movement, in the people organized to win. The unity of the people serves the victory of the people. The unity of the people is the defeat of the empire.
That was the great stage of struggle in those times, but in some countries, poverty is growing, as in Bolivia. This morning, I was in contact in the early mornings, at night, on the phone, and I was told that there are families who eat at eleven in the morning. That is breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You have to hear that. When I arrived, extreme poverty was thirty-eight percent, and I left it at less than fourteen percent. Now, according to data from international organizations, it is thirty-six percent. And people are going to Chile, Argentina, the United States, and Europe. That didn’t happen in my time. We are returning to worse conditions. It has totally changed, which is why the people say, Evo has to return.
CO: When MAS returned to power after the 2019 coup, what were the actions taken to combat the fascist forces involved in that coup? And how do these groups work now in this context?
EM: These groups from the 2019 coup are pushing for the degradation of MAS and everyone, the government, these coup groups, plus the United States, all against Evo. All against the indigenous movement, all against the democratic and cultural revolution. That is why, as I said earlier, the government with its state apparatus, supported by the coup plotters, and the right. That surprises us; I don’t have any apparatus. I don’t have one. And despite the persecution, so much slander, so many dirty campaigns, we are doing better, we are doing better than the government and the right.
CO: And in what other ways do you see these different sectors working? Arce’s son has business interests in lithium, so do you see these sectors working together for that resource?
EM: Look, I have audio. During the campaign, Marcelo Arce, the son, was losing money, negotiating lawsuits, before his father won. At one point, I said the difference is not only ideological, but also problematic, it’s unethical, family corruption. In Bolivia, at least, the people do not accept that a family does politics. It’s a right for the son, the wife, to work, that’s a right. But for the son or family to be in business and stealing, that’s a problem. That’s why these polls, that’s why we see the decline. I’ll read the poll, let’s see. The penultimate poll, here it is, last Monday. We have 26%. That’s Rodrigo Paz, 12%, Echy, 8%, Manfred, 3%, Lucho Arce, 2.2%, and that’s it, right? The business people. Andrónico Rodríguez, our comrade, 4.4%. If we add up, we have more than 30%. The polls are only done in the cities. My strength is the countryside, as you very well know. Right now, we are at more than 45% in the polls. They know we are going to win; that’s why they don’t want me to return as a candidate.
CO: A few weeks ago the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE; Supreme Electoral Tribunal) declared Grover Garcia as representative of the MAS in the upcoming election. Could you speak to this?
EM: The Plurinational Constitutional Court is de facto. There is no article in the Political Constitution of the State that talks about extensions or self-extensions. No state body can extend itself, neither the executive, legislative, nor the judiciary, nor electoral. Their management, their mandate ended on December 31 of last year. And they sent a note, a bill, to the assembly to approve their self-extension to manage the assembly with more people or without them. This magistrate says they recognize a Congress in El Alto, which is totally illegal and unconstitutional.
Second, the law 1096 of political organizations. According to this law of political organizations, only the delegate of the party, civic group, or political movement, like the MAP-IPSP, can send notes, letters, call party meetings, or request oversight and supervision, no one else. And our delegate, Dr. Diego Jiménez, has never sent oversight or called a Congress in El Alto. Between August and September of 2022, we adapted our statutes to the new standards as required by the Supreme Electoral Court. We approved it, requested Congress approval by the Supreme Electoral Court, which supervised it. That Congress was recognized with Lucho Arce in 2022. The conclusions, the approval, were sent to the Supreme Electoral Court, which approved our statutes, and additionally, it was backed by the Plurinational Constitutional Court of 2022, still in force. According to the statute, only the president of MAS, I, can call a Congress, no one else. No one calls us to the Congress in El Alto. I alone can inaugurate and install the presidium. This is not in El Alto. The Supreme Court rejects it, and Lucho forces a constitutional chamber to impose supervision, which is totally illegal, totally unconstitutional. And these are de facto magistrates who now say it belongs to Lucho. If we interpret the statutes, the rules, and the constitution, Evo remains the leader of the MAP-IPSP.
At some point, an institution will make sure this is respected. But there is a legal loophole. There is political interference. Here there is a dictatorship. I am explaining this with data, with the constitution, but that’s why I’m very happy because this is not the first time. From the moment we created this political instrument, the United States never accepted that we had legality. In ’95 and ’97 we participated in elections with a borrowed emblem. In ’99, 2000, and 2005 we won with a gifted emblem. We only incorporated it when we reached the presidency, the IPCP, the political instrument for the peoples, into MAS-IPSP. It’s a long story. This is the first moment where we were victims of the empire and the Bolivian right. Because in ’95, we started with our political movement. On December 18, we will celebrate our democratic cultural revolution.
CO: I know you spoke a lot about what happened here in Peru two years ago with Pedro Castillo. He is still in Penal Barbadillo (prison), but they let Fujimori go free and he died a free man. Do you have any message for President Pedro Castillo?
EM: My respect, my amplification. A campesino rondero rose to become a teacher, a teacher candidate, and won the election in Peru when they started and with any pretext, he went straight to prison. For campesinos, for a worker in education, all my solidarity, all my respect – it’s a blow to the empire. And with support of the empire, they got rid of him, assassinated and massacred his people. For what? The US empire, from Peru, from Chile, and from Argentina, wants to get close to the Bolivian people for their lithium. It’s an international love affair. That’s why, in many things, the unity of the people is so important, but also the liberation of the Peruvian people. I know, I’m sure the people will rise up democratically. The big problem that our Peruvian brothers and sisters face is that, according to the constitution, they cannot nationalize natural resources. It would be important to figure out how to guarantee a constituent assembly to modify the constitution. When he won the elections, when he was president, we spoke many times, from nine until four in the morning, but since he didn’t have Congress, that’s when we accompanied Brother Pedro Castillo. But what serves us as an experience, and this should allow us even more unity and more revolutionary conviction to recover sovereignty and dignity, but not just political sovereignty, but fundamentally economic sovereignty.