Followers of the Former Dictator Evo Morales Announce They Will No Longer Be Mas Supporters.

The MAS members loyal to Evo Morales stated on Friday that next week they will begin to resign en masse from their membership within MAS. The decision comes after Morales announced an agreement with FPV (Frente Para la Victoria) to run in the general elections scheduled for August this year.

Meanwhile, the Evo-aligned leaders in the city of La Paz declared that they have called on Evo's followers to massively disaffiliate, claiming that Arce took the party from them. "There is no turning back, they stole the acronym from us and that's why we express our repudiation and rejection," stated Omar Arce, departmental leader of MAS in La Paz.

Carlos Acosta, a leader aligned with the Chapare leader in Tarija, reported that the mass resignation is part of a strategy to pressure the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to recognize Evo Morales's candidacy. "More than a million members will disaffiliate from MAS," Acosta indicated.

In recent weeks, those close to the one accused of pedophilia have repeatedly stated that the former dictator would indeed participate in the elections, despite the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruling in 2021 that indefinite reelection is not a human right.

In this context, the agreement with FPV comes after Morales was rejected by various political organizations. Meanwhile, before securing the agreement, FPV's own leadership denied having approaches or being in negotiations with someone who violated the national constitution by disregarding the February 2016 referendum.

The coca grower leader seeks to force a candidacy

Now, the coca grower leader was removed from the MAS leadership by a Constitutional Court ruling, but he has sought a legal alternative to remain in the political scene. The TCP ruling granted the party leadership to Grover García, aligned with President Luis Arce.

On the other hand, MAS has suffered a deep division since Evo Morales and his followers were ousted from the party leadership in November 2024. The crisis worsened with the judicial investigations against Morales for alleged sexual abuse of minors, which weakened his already diminished public image and political maneuverability.

Some political analysts believe that the departure of the "evistas" will further fragment the vote on the Bolivian left, favoring the left-wing opposition essentialized by Tuto Quiroga. "The dispute between Arce's and Morales's followers could weaken MAS and open opportunities for other political actors in the upcoming elections," explained political scientist Pablo Sánchez.

Amid the uncertainty, the former dictator has intensified his discourse against the government of his former economy minister, accusing him of betraying the principles of the change process. Meanwhile, attention is focused on next Monday, when thousands of "evistas" will formalize their disaffiliation and begin a new stage in the power struggle in Bolivia.