On Sunday, former Bolivian president Evo Morales confirmed his participation in the 2025 presidential elections, a process for which the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) is currently internally divided.
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"They have convinced me to be a candidate. They have forced me. Of course the people want my participation but the right-wingers, the government, and the Empire are forcing me," Morales said on his program on radio Kawsachun Coca.
The MAS leader added that there is a dirty campaign against him since the opposition calls him a "drug trafficker" while the administration of President Luis Arce points to him as the "King of Cocaine." In response to these defamations, he chose to be a candidate.
"We will not give up. We are going to be in this tough democratic battle and we are going to build proposals. I have a meeting with businessmen and I welcome their proposals. We must build the post-bicentennial agenda," said Morales.
The MAS leader regrets that Arce has not advanced "anything at all" on the agenda they carried out with 13 pillars towards the country's bicentennial.
Morales denounced that the Arce Government has a plan to defenestrate him through political processes and that they even want to "eliminate" him physically.
"We are going to face with truth, dignity and honesty all the aggression that we suffered on social networks from the Ministry of the Presidency," Morales said.
The statements of the former Bolivian president occur a few days before the MAS installs its party congress, which will be held in Cochabamba from October 3 to 5. Arce's allies, however, have tried to held the MAS congress in El Alto City, where they hope to renew the party's top leaders, starting with Morales.
Those who support Morales have warned that the MAS congress will decide on the expulsion of Arce, whom they described as a "traitor."
On Saturday, the current MAS leadership, which is close to Morales, accused the Arce adminsitration of putting pressure on the Supreme Electoral Court through to try to invalidate the party congress in Cochabamba.