Who Is Bolivian President Luis Arce? Former Economist Who Survived Coup Efforts

JAKARTA - Bolivian President Luis Arce, former minister of the economy, faced a coup attempt when the armed forces occupied the square in La Paz and entered the presidential palace.

In a Reuters review, Arce, 60, won the election in 2020 after a period of political turmoil. The previous year's vote was marred by allegations of fraud, sparking widespread protests and finally President Evo Morales resigned.

Former ally and colleague, Morales is now a political rival. Arce and Moraels are eyeing presidential nominations in the election next year, and each leads the dominant political party faction of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS).

A court decision banning Morales from running again sparked protests this year blocking the country's main highway and harming the economy.

The shortage of dollars and fuel also caused losses due to the decline in production and exports of this country's gas that does not have land.

Arce, a former economist who is not well known for not highlighting, was once a student of Morales and drafted an economic plan for the successful candidacy of Morales as president in 2005.

Morales then appointed Arce as economic minister in 2006, and he directed the Andean country's economy for more than a decade.

His supporters say Arce was the architect of Bolivia's growth in the 2000s that lifted many people in one of South America's poorest countries out of poverty. Commodities including gas, metal and soybeans soared.

He also angered investors by encouraging nationalization of sectors including oil and gas.

Towards the end of almost 14 years of the government, Morales, growth has slowed down and the opposition is growing to seek an unprecedented fourth term.

The 2019 election was canceled marking a political crisis. This was followed by the resignation of Morales, bloody violence and the position of interim president Jeanine Anez, a member of the far-right congress who took power after Morales left the country.

The election of Arce in 2020 appears to bring political stability. Morales returned from exile for nearly a year when Arce won the presidency.

As president, Arce has struggled to manage a US dollar shortage that has burdened the economy and caused credit rating agencies to lower Bolivia's debt rating to a garbage status.

The general behind the coup attempt on Wednesday, June 26, Juan Jose Zuniga, said the government was "impoverishing" the country.

The Arce administration has signed agreements with Russian and Chinese companies to develop large amounts of lithium reserves that have not been utilized in Bolivia, metals used in electric vehicle batteries, cell phones, and laptops. But lawmakers in split legislative bodies have yet to approve any contracts.