The Attorney General of Bolivia, Juan Lanchipa confirmed on Monday that Morales65 years old, must testify on Thursday. He was notified on Tuesday at his home in Cochabamba.
Morales, who governed between 2006 and 2019, has denied the accusations that during his Presidency he would have created a network of adolescents between 14 and 15 years old to have at his disposal called “Evo Generation” and the complaint of “rape” of a minor with whom he would have had a daughter.
“I am going to defend myself legally (…) as I have defended myself against many presidents,” stated Morales on Tuesday at a press conference in Cochabamba.
Morales described the complaint as “another lie”and added that in 2020 he had already been investigated for the same events and that “It has been proven that there was nothing.”
He accused Arce to promote criminal proceedings against them in order to disqualify him as a candidate. Arce has accused him of promoting social protests to force the reduction of his mandate.
On September 23, Evo Morales He led the so-called “March to Save Bolivia,” a 190-kilometer walk that ended in La Paz. The Government described the protest as a coup attempt.
On September 26, the complaint was filed against Morales in the prosecutor’s office Tarija and days after it was made public.
On Wednesday, the newspaper El Deber, based on sources from the defense of Moralesassured that the political leader will attend the tax summons.
These are the keys to the case:
An arrest warrant and a dismissed prosecutor
On Wednesday, October 2, the departmental prosecutor of Tarija, Sandra Gutierrez, surprised the country by denouncing that it was dismissed for wanting to capture the Evo Morales in a case of “human trafficking”.
Gutiérrez assured that the attorney general Lanchipa He fired her and did not let her enter his office on the day he would execute the arrest warrant against Morales. He added that the authority told him that “that case is not touched on.”
While Lilian MorenoSanta Cruz judge who “deactivated” the arrest warrant for Moralesreported that he “received pressure” to do so and assured that the case “is not closed.”
Although the case for rape (carnal access with minors between 14 and 18 years old) was filed in the past, the prosecutor’s office of Tarija returned to the topic to investigate Morales and the parents of the alleged victim for human trafficking and smuggling.
As for prosecutor Gutiérrez, she was restored to her position.
Besides…
Other cases against Evo Morales
Evo Morales faced a case for statutory rape and relations with minors that was opened during the interim government of Jeanine Áñez (2019-2020).
The accusation was based on photographs and text messages with a minor who supposedly presented an unexplained migratory flow to Mexico and Argentina, countries where Morales was when he left the Presidency.
However, that and the other cases were dismissed or closed after the return of the MAS to power and Morales to Bolivia at the end of 2020.
The complaint: a daughter with a minor
According to the complaint that was leaked to the media, between 2014 and 2015, during his presidency, Morales created a “youth guard” made up of adolescents aged 14 and 15, which he named “Evo Generation”.
The prosecutor Gutiérrez was investigating the case of a minor who in 2016, when she was 15 years old, supposedly had a daughter with the then president Morales. The teenager’s parents would have consented to the relationship in exchange for benefits, according to the prosecutor’s preliminary investigations. Morales would have signed the baby’s birth certificate as the father.
The victim reported the rape of the former president when she was 15 years old and was part of the “Evo Generation”.
The complaint is not new but until now it had not been successful due to the alleged interference of political power in justice, according to civil organizations and opponents of the MAS.
The Minister of the Government of Bolivia,
Eduardo del Castillo stated that he has three complaints for “rape” involving Evo Morales, and said that “he does not rule out that more will arrive.”
“The moral scandal is devastating for Evo Morales”
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Ricardo Calla Ortegapolitical analyst and former Minister of State of President Carlos Mesa, told The Commerce that what happens in Bolivia It is devastating for the political career of Evo Morales.
“The situation has generated such a shock to the personal prestige of Evo Moralesthat without a doubt one can say, without greater risk of mistake, that He is experiencing the worst political storm of his life, a storm that could wipe him out permanently as a political actor moving forward in Bolivia”, Calla predicted.
“The issue is extremely serious for him because the discredit it is causing him is enormous, since there is a wave of complaints about statutory rape and asexual abuse of minors that have been unleashed these days in Bolivia. “The scandal is very big, the moral scandal is devastating for Evo Morales and the consequences of his actions, of his actions, will be suffered by him very seriously, politically,” Calla noted.
“The case can be settled politically. “It also has very strong legal consequences, even with the risk of ending up in jail,” he continued.
Calla considered that the case is documented and is very serious in legal terms for Morales.
“For several years, at least a decade, it was a topic discussed in various circles. There was information, rumors, versions that Mr. Evo Morales, being president of Bolivia, had predatory sexual behavior with respect to minors.. “It was a kind of secret that circulated in the spheres of power.”said Calla.
The political struggle with Arce
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The Bolivian journalist Rafael Archondo reminded The Commerce that the prosecutor of Tarija who initiated the investigation, Sandra Gutierrezwas Minister of Justice of the government of Evo Morales between 2014 and 2015.
“Sandra Gutierrez He is an important person because he has been part of the MAS militancy for quite some time. So, since she is part of the Public Ministry and has been appointed, let’s say, by the Executive Branch, undoubtedly What she is doing has a political component, and is also obviously aimed at damaging the image of Evo Morales.to discredit him”, Archondo said.
“The Judiciary in Boliviahaving been elected by popular vote, depends on electoral and party variables. Therefore, the Bolivian judicial system, and even more so now that it is in an extraordinary mandate that no longer legally corresponds to it, It is a body docile to the Executive Branch. So, that helps us place this issue in a specific context in which Evo Morales has the odds to lose. All the factors that could determine or not his sentence in the coming months in these instances are adverse to him. “Very different from what happened in 2020, when a similar case, if not the same, was dismissed by the courts, when Luis Arce was already president and still an ally of Evo,” he remembered.
Archondo insisted that The case was reactivated in a context of division in the ruling party and where the political future of Luis Arce It depends on the failure of Evo Morales, and vice versa. “This case undoubtedly has political overtones.”
The journalist also noted that The history of rape and the use of State resources to obtain casual partners has been present for a long time in the life of Evo Morales.
“This is not the only case, but all the previous ones failed because Evo Morales, by having the reins of the State, ensured that whoever could sue him was finally compensated or restored with government support. That is, by giving work to the girls’ parents, the girls could receive some type of benefit. Morales had all government possibilities at his disposal to cover these events. Now he no longer has that possibility.”said.
Calla stated that there could be political interests of Arce that are stirring the situation, “But the case is not reduced to political and information manipulation.”
“Without a doubt, this scandal of sexual predation and moral misconduct has strong political implications. That cannot be left aside. And surely there are political interests of those who would like to see the Evo Morales, and of course there are political interests of Evo Morales to try to survive on this issue. But in very general terms, one can already see that This case is devastating for Evo Morales. It is going to sink him politically because his prestige today in Bolivia is on the ground. “All the people are horrified by the situation and are feeling deep contempt for this character.”said Calla.