Bolivian former president Morales goes on hunger strike to force negotiations with authorities

The situation in Bolivia is tense. Morales’ supporters have been blocking highways for two weeks. They are protesting against the legal proceedings being conducted against the former president. These were allegedly organized by the government of Morales’ political rival Luis Arce.

Morales’ supporters are also demanding the resignation of President Arce. According to them, it is incapable of tackling the economic crisis caused by a shortage of foreign exchange.

Earlier Friday, armed supporters of Morales took about twenty soldiers hostage. The hostage takers first captured a barracks in central Bolivia, where they seized “weapons and ammunition,” military sources said.

“I will go on a hunger strike until the government announces political and economic negotiations,” Morales said in Chapare, a rural region in the center of the country.