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‘Yesterday we experienced an episode of a chapter that has not yet concluded,’ the former Interior Minister pointed out. In an interview with teleSUR journalist Marcela Heredia on Thursday, Bolivian economist Hugo Moldiz analyzed the failed coup d’état in his country. Below are the main aspects addressed by the former Bolivian Interior Minister.

In what sense could it be said that the defense of democracy in Bolivia was successful?

HUGO MOLDIZ: Various factors converged to prevent the Bolivian democracy and legally constituted government from suffering a coup by some military personnel. Firstly, President Luis Arce’s attitude was crucial. He did not leave; instead, he stayed to confront the coup-plotting general and ordered him to stand down. Although the general refused his request, Arce did not back down and remained firm in facing the situation.

Secondly, the rapid response of thousands of people who mobilized towards the government headquarters, the Big House. In Murillo Square, there were some confrontations between civilians and military, fortunately without any casualties on either side. However, there were no significant clashes.

Thirdly, the quick reaction of the international community, which included progressive governments, the Organization of American States (OAS), and even some right-wing presidents.

Fourthly, General Zuñiga’s inability to get other units and regiments to join the attempt. At 12:30, he ordered the troops to barracks, and they complied without knowing the reason. However, when Gen. Zuñiga took Murillo Square, the 8th Division stationed in Santa Cruz and the 7th Division stationed in Cochabamba decided not to join the coup adventure.

The same happened with the soldiers in Challapata, where there are heavy assault vehicles. Practically, Zuñiga was left alone. Additionally, even some opposition sectors rejected the coup, although this later changed.

What was the treatment of the mass media regarding the coup attempt? Did this treatment contribute to the Bolivian people coming out to defend their democracy?

HUGO MOLDIZ: Many media outlets maintained an apparent neutrality. Nevertheless, this operated as a mechanism in favor of President Luis Arce. However, there is still much to analyze and find out if this apparent neutrality was real or not. Initially, the government was somewhat imprecise in indicating that there was an “unusual movement of troops.” A few minutes later, the government quickly corrected itself and denounced the existence of a coup attempt.

There are a set of facts that debunk the hypothesis of a self-coup. And this deserves to be remembered especially in Venezuela because when the coup against President Hugo Chavez failed, when the attempt to overthrow the Bolivarian revolution failed, opposition sectors tried to install narratives claiming it was a self-coup.

Despite the spatial and temporal distances, we are in a similar scenario. The project to shorten President Arce’s mandate has not concluded. The ways to achieve it will be different. Yesterday we saw one of them, but that does not mean that other ways to achieve an early general election will not appear.

People in Murillo Square were shouting, “Lucho is not alone, damn it!” This expression is very important because, ultimately, the Bolivian people took charge of safeguarding the institutionality.

HUGO MOLDIZ: Yes, the people’s quick reaction was fundamental. I would say that even citizens who did not vote for Arce, although they were not in Murillo Square, showed signs of being against a coup due to its potential consequences. In 2019, the people already suffered the coup against President Evo Morales, which the elites disguised using the mechanism of resignation.

Yesterday, there was also a coup attempt against Luis Arce, which some supporters of the former president are unfortunately questioning. They are not making an objective reading because much remains to be investigated. I do not believe that General Zuñiga attempted a coup just because he was told he would be relieved of his post 24 hours before.

No, a coup is not organized overnight. The fortunately aborted coup attempt began to take shape about 48 hours earlier when Zuñiga threatened Bolivian democracy, saying he would arrest former President Morales, which the armed forces cannot do unless under exceptional regimes.

Vice President David Choquehuanca said, “Democracy has prevailed in Bolivia, but we must remain vigilant for the good of our country and future generations. We request that ordinary and military justice judge General Zuñiga and all responsible with the full rigor of the law to prevent any future coup attempts. We thank the entire population, social organizations, mayors, and the international community for defending the democracy that cost us so much to recover.” What can you tell us about his statements?

HUGO MOLDIZ: We must see the whole board and not just what happened yesterday. President Arce is facing a blockade from the legislative function and an incipient articulation of social forces that are closing in on him so that he has no other alternative but to call early elections.

Unfortunately, among those forces are some sectors related to farmers, heavy transporters, and businessmen. I fully agree with what the Vice President said. Yesterday we experienced an episode of a chapter that has not yet concluded.

Disrupting the danger that still threatens Bolivian democracy depends on how the Arce government reacts, what adjustments it quickly makes in its management, and how it consolidates broad political relations within the popular field.

Weeks ago, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that Haiti is getting closer to famine every day. On Thursday, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reiterated its warning that Haiti remains threatened by famine today.

According to the FAO, the Caribbean country is among the nine nations in the world that could suffer from this scourge, and is one of the five nations where more than 10 percent of the population is in a state of food emergency.

The international agency announced a new phase of acute food insecurity deterioration between June and October 2024.

Weeks ago, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that Haiti is getting closer to famine every day.

“Haitians are on the brink of collapse: one in two people are going hungry today. Rising hunger is exacerbating the country’s security crisis. We need urgent action now: waiting to respond to this situation in its full magnitude is not an option,” stressed WFP’s director here, Jean-Martin Bauer.

He noted that as violence, inflation and poor harvests worsen, levels of food insecurity worsen.

Between August 2023 and February 2024, the cost of the food basket increased by 22 per cent, making food unaffordable for millions of Haitians, he was quoted as saying by Le Nouvelliste.

They are now forced to resort to desperate coping strategies, such as buying on credit and going into debt, selling animals, seeds and other assets to survive.

The newspaper noted that 4.97 million people face higher levels of acute food insecurity, and 1.64 million citizens have already reached emergency status.

Violence hinders the delivery of food and other humanitarian assistance.

According to local media reports, a single vote will be taken on the entire text of the Basic Law with the changes that were incorporated in the Senate, which include the privatization of a group of state enterprises.

With the presence of 131 legislators, the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina began at noon this Thursday a special session to validate the Bases Bill and the Fiscal Package, after the Senate generally approved that law last week.

According to local media reports, a single vote will be taken on the entire text of the Basic Law with the changes that were incorporated in the Senate, which include the privatization of a group of state enterprises.

Although for the moment Aerolíneas Argentinas, Correo Argentino and Radio-Televisión Argentina Sociedad del Estado were excluded, the ruling party has already made clear that it will later present specific laws to privatize them.

Ley Bases is considered a tool of the neoliberal president Javier Milei to dismantle the state, deregulate the economy and grant more privileges to the great fortunes.

As regards the tax package, its opinion will comprise four votes. It is estimated that the highest will be those corresponding to the replenishment of the income tax and personal property. In the case of this tax, broad popular sectors question that the party of President Javier Milei (La Libertad Avanza) and other political forces want to consider the wage as profit and with it they will attack the private property of the worker, which contradicts his usual defense of private property.

According to the Union for the Fatherland (UxP) deputy, Vanesa Siley, in less than a year the government of Miley already wants to put his hand in the pocket of the workers and take salary to 35 percent of them. He also warned that they will do so in violation of several articles of the Constitution and with the approval of a single chamber (Deputies) in a country that is bicameral.

Because of the importance of the issue, left-wing organizations-including the Left Front, the Workers’ Pole, the Class-Struggle Current, and the Workers’ Union of the Popular Economy (UTEP)- announced that they will stage marches in the vicinity of Congress in rejection of the Bases Law.

They will also require parliamentarians to reject changes introduced by the Senate and not to validate the bill.

For its part, UxP said it will file appeals in court if the Personal Gains and Property tax is approved this Thursday. The debate of these norms in the Senate provoked mobilizations in the vicinity of Congress, violently repressed, with several injured and dozens of detainees.

The announcement comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) together with the European Union said that nine thousand Palestinians need urgent medical evacuation by the end of 2024, amid a brutal Israeli offensive in Gaza.

On Thursday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store confirmed that the Nordic country will accept and treat Palestinians injured as a result of the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Norway will participate in the international effort to help Palestinians in urgent need of hospital treatment, VG media reported.

The announcement comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) together with the European Union said that nine thousand Palestinians need urgent medical evacuation by the end of 2024, amid a brutal Israeli offensive in Gaza.

In addition, Norway will contribute to airlifting Palestinian patients to other countries.

In this way, we can contribute to helping many more people than we have the capacity to bring to Norway for treatment, Store told VG.

The government has decided that up to 20 patients with family members from Gaza can be flown to Norway for treatment in Norwegian hospitals, he said.

According to the Norwegian prime minister, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic and its health system has collapsed. Last month, Norway officially recognized Palestine as a state.

As early as December last year, health organizations and the UN warned that the health system in Gaza was in a state of serious disrepair.

Today, only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially operational, according to the latest reports. Since then, more than 37,700 Palestinians have died in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 86,400 have been injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly nine months after the Israeli war, vast areas of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide before the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it broke out.

Evo Morales created this group, now denounces persecution by the ‘Pachajchos’. Army officers on active and passive duty confirm the existence of this organization. Those mentioned as its main leaders command the Armed Forces.

The “Pachajchos” is a power group within the Bolivian Army. They have a lot of influence when it comes to appointing officers and have a lot of weight in the fight against contraband. This select organization is led by the Armed Forces leadership. Active and passive duty military personnel recounted the history and actions of the “Pachajchos”. A counterpart was requested from the Army General Command and there was no response.

The “Pachajchos” were created during the last administration of Evo Morales. It is a military power group whose main mission is military intelligence. Joining this organization is not easy. It requires several requirements.

The military group became known on October 16, when Evo Morales denounced that the Ministry of Defense and the Army Chief of Staff have organized a group called “Pachajcho” to persecute him with military experts in telephone tapping and personal surveillance that were already discovered in Cochabamba. At that time, the leader of the “masismo” warned: "At any moment this group is going to mount evidence; we are being persecuted by our own government through the Ministry of Defense.

According to Jorge Santistevan, a retired Army colonel and lawyer, “this is a power group within the Army that is managed by the former commander of the Army and now commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces (Hugo Arandia) and General (Juan José) Zúñiga (former chief of the Army General Staff and current commander general of the Army)”.

On Tuesday, November 1, 16 days after Morales’ denunciation, and in the middle of the conflict over the census in Santa Cruz, President Luis Arce appointed General Hugo Arandia as the new commander in chief of the Armed Forces, while General Zúñiga took over as general commander of the Army.

According to Santistevan, this power group not only follows certain personalities, such as Evo Morales, but also enjoys privileges within the institution with important and strategic positions to manage the institution.

This media sent a letter to General Hugo Arandia requesting information about this group and asking if he is part of it. The letter was left at the Gran Cuartel de Miraflores, in the city of La Paz, last Wednesday, October 19. By the time this report went to press there had been no response.

However, in February of this year, General Zuñiga, when he served as chief of the Army General Staff, admitted the existence of the group. The officer said that this group is dedicated to intelligence tasks and that non-commissioned and low-ranking military officers are also part of it.

“The ‘Pachajchos’ group is made up of excellent officers, non-commissioned officers and sergeants who work in the General Staff. They are also victims of lies and slander. They work for the homeland, for the institution,” said Zuñiga at the beginning of the year.