LA PAZ — Bolivia’s longest-running political crisis deepened Thursday as former president Evo Morales’ party, the Instrumento Politico por la Soberania de los Pueblos, formally withdrew from October’s presidential ballot, citing “state persecution” of its candidates and the arbitrary blocking of party registration in seven departments. The decision effectively splits the left-wing vote and dramatically improves the odds of a centrist or right-wing victory for the first time in two decades.
In a separate escalation, Bolivia’s Congress voted 87-41 to authorize the deployment of army battalions to the border region near Cobija after a Venezuelan military aircraft violated Bolivian airspace for 34 minutes at low altitude Wednesday, forcing the closure of two local airports. The incident is the most serious breach of Bolivian sovereignty since a 2019 border confrontation with Paraguay.
The Venezuelan defense ministry denied the airspace violation and called the Bolivian response “a provocative overreaction.” The UN secretary-general called for “maximum restraint” from both governments. Regional analysts warn the dual crises could destabilize the Morales-aligned bloc ahead of regional summits scheduled for July.
This is a breaking news article. For the latest updates on this developing story, follow Media Hook’s Latin America desk.
Written by Diego Vargas
Written by Diego Vargas, Latin America Correspondent