On October 2, Bolivian social media lit up with the news that the prosecutor of the southern department of Tarija, Sandra Gutierrez, had been dismissed after issuing an arrest warrant for former President Evo Morales.
This is when Bolivia learned that the leftist who ruled the country for almost 14 years was being formally accused of statutory rape, human trafficking, and exploitation.
What evidence is there against Evo Morales?
The main evidence in the case is a birth certificate showing the name Juan Evo Morales Ayma as the father of a child, whose mother gave birth at the age of 15.
His lawyer, Cecilia Urquieta Pardo, categorically rejects all accusations. Her main argument is that “there is no victim.” However, under Bolivian law, organisms such as the ombudsman’s office and the police must pursue such cases ex officio, even if the victim does not file a complaint, according to Patricia Brañez, a feminist activist and coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights.
On September 26, the Tarija Prosecutor’s Office accused Morales of having a relationship with a 15-year-old girl, allegedly in exchange for political favors for her parents. The girl’s mother was found to hold a diplomatic passport despite not meeting the necessary requirements, according to Senator Luciana Campero of the opposition party, Comunidad Ciudadana, who has followed the case closely. The father of the teenage mother is currently in jail, and Campero says this is for pushing for action on his daughter’s situation.
Are the charges politically motivated?
Three days before prosecutors charged him, Morales had led a “March to Save Bolivia,” a protest against President Luis Arce Catacora. The march’s main demand was for Arce to dismiss what he called “narco ministers” — public officials he claims are involved in the drugs trade — within 24 hours. Morales also suggested that Arce resign.
Arce served as economy minister under Morales, but a bitter rift has developed between the two since Arce took office, splitting the MAS-IPSP party so profoundly that a faction voted to expel the president.
Urquieta claims Morales is now being persecuted through the judiciary in retaliation for the popular support displayed at the march. She says the case was opened in secret, and that it took just two hours for the police to investigate and for a case to be opened — something she claims is impossible.
“We are in a no man’s land where ministers call and pressure judges, who are publicly admitting they are being intimidated by officials from the Ministry of Government,” Urquieta told the Herald.
Morales was pushed out of the presidency by a coup in November, 2019. He had just claimed victory in elections that would have seen him stand a fourth consecutive term in office, and disputed accusations that he stole the elections sparked nationwide protests. He was replaced by far-right senator Jeanine Áñez, who ruled for almost a year before holding elections, which Arce won.
Urquieta points out that Añez’s allies have capitalized upon these accusations. On Wednesday, her former economy minister, Branko Marinkovic, asked Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich to investigate Morales’ stay in the country.
“The aim of these accusations is to tarnish Evo’s image, just as they did in 2019 during Jeanine Añez’s government,” Urquieta said.
On October 13, Bolivia’s Minister of the Presidency, María Nela Prada, invited Morales to talk. This risks the girl being reduced to a political bargaining chip and her rights ignored, Brañez argued.
How have Evo’s supporters reacted?
In the central department of Cochabamba, roadblocks in support of Morales have sprung up. These protests are not just about the former leader: his supporters are also demanding action on Bolivia’s ailing economy, a tougher government stance on corruption, and improved legal security in the country.
How is the victim being treated?
The alleged mother and child have reportedly taken refuge in Argentina. Little has been done to guarantee their rights, according to Brañez.
“Women are being used as cannon fodder,” she said.
Brañez added that many of those in Morales’s inner circle would have had to turn a blind eye to the alleged abuses.
Has Morales been accused before?
Rumors about Morales’s involvement with minors have existed for years, but none of the accusations have ever led to a trial against him. Morales was accused of statutory rape during the Áñez government, but the charges were thrown out in December 2020 — after Arce took office — due to lack of evidence. In Bolivia, individuals cannot be tried twice for the same offense.
While interviewing Morales in Mexico, where he initially fled after the coup, U.S. journalist Jon Lee Anderson saw a 19-year-old woman with him. The same woman also accompanied him in Argentina, where he relocated after Alberto Fernández assumed the presidency.
Angélica Ponce, a former community leader, has also claimed Morales was living with four young women during his exile in Argentina.
Perhaps the most scandalous case was in 2016. Gabriela Zapata, a woman 26 years younger than Morales, claimed that she had had a child with Morales. He initially acknowledged fathering the child, but later changed his story and denied that the child existed. The Bolivian judiciary ultimately ruled that the child had never existed. Zapata was jailed for influence peddling. The accusations surfaced just before a key referendum on constitutional term limits that would have allowed Morales to run for re-election. The proposal was rejected.
In 2020, anarcho-feminist group Mujeres Creando, led by María Galindo, known in Bolivia for her public protests demanding answers from the government, called for Morales to be investigated for repeated statutory rape.
In 2021, Comunidad Ciudadana Senator Andrea Barrientos publicly stated that Morales “has children registered with minors.”
What’s the broader political context?
Bolivia is grappling with blockades, protests, a shortage of dollars, diesel scarcity, inflation, and wildfires, driving popular frustration with the government.
In June, the military surrounded the presidential palace in La Paz and forced their way into the building, before standing down after Arce swore in a new high command. The ease with which the apparent coup attempt was defeated, as well as comments from the rogue general leading the operation, led to widespread accusations that it was staged to strengthen Arce’s public image.
Many feel that this conflict with Evo is a smokescreen amidst the already overwhelming conflicts, and what is needed is a proper investigation.
Rampant wildfires have razed 10 million hectares since July, sparking a national emergency. Morales has been calling for an end to a ban on farmers burning fields. On October 17, Arce stated that he would not allow the country to be “set on fire” to protect anyone from personal accusations.
Brañez, the feminist campaigner, and Barrientos, the senator, have both said that they doubt the statutory rape case will move forward because of the close links between the parties involved. If one of the key figures fell, they say, they would take the rest down with them.