Two days after a decisive first round in Bolivia’s presidential election, BdF met Evo Morales at his political stronghold in Lauca Eñe, a rural town in the heart of the country’s coca-producing region. Though banned from running in 2025 by a Supreme Court ruling, Morales played a pivotal role in the outcome: 20% of voters nullified their ballots or abstained, a record in Bolivian electoral history. The former president had openly campaigned for a voto nulo.
Morales believes the disqualification was orchestrated by his former ally and current president, Luis Arce, as part of a broader betrayal. The two split after a power struggle over leadership of MAS (Movement Towards Socialism), Bolivia’s largest party. Morales was eventually ousted and, in retaliation, called for null votes, criticizing MAS’s candidate Eduardo del Castillo as a right-wing figure.
With the left fragmented, two conservative candidates, Rodrigo Paz and Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, advanced to the October 19 runoff. Morales, however, remains defiant. Living under self-imposed confinement since October 2024, with an arrest warrant issued against him for child trafficking, a charge he strongly denies, he is surrounded by hundreds of loyal supporters who maintain a permanent vigil outside the building where he resides.
“I’m not hiding. I go out to meetings in the Tropics and they [the police] don’t dare come in,” said Morales, now 65, who spends his days caring for his fish ponds and tangerine trees, and working out in a makeshift gym in the first floor of his house.
Evo Morales: “Ambition leads to betrayal; we are still resisting”
Nearly ten months into what he describes as a political siege, Evo Morales remains in hiding in the Tropic of Cochabamba region, surrounded by community vigilance groups. In an interview with BdF, Morales explained that this began on October 27th—the day after his birthday—when a coordinated military and police operation targeted him with helicopters and foreign personnel. “One of the helicopters was flown by a Colombian,” he noted. According to Morales, the people quickly came to his defense: “Every community gathered at the entrance of this property… and organized shifts to protect me.”
He admitted that, just days into the vigil, he considered surrendering. “I thought of Lula. When an arrest warrant was issued against him, workers surrounded the union building to stop it—but Lula chose to turn himself in,” Morales recalled. “Here, the people didn’t let me do that.” He credited their effort with allowing him to remain in place and continue political resistance.
Reflecting on his long history of conflict with state and foreign forces in the region, Morales cited the 1988 massacre in Villa Tunari. “Back then, I saw the DEA and the Americans attacking us with bullets from helicopters. That’s something our compañeros haven’t forgotten.” For Morales, the current situation is part of the same struggle: “We are once again united, union-wise, socially, and politically. We organize in the face of bullets.”
“There is no victim, and thus no crime”
Asked about the sexual harassment accusations that have been used to disqualify his candidacy, Morales denied their legitimacy. He stated that during the 2019 coup, his enemies attempted to link him to corruption and drug trafficking but failed to produce evidence. “Even people inside the presidential offices were instructed to fabricate a corruption case,” he said. “They couldn’t do it.”
According to Morales, Bolivian law requires that a case be closed if no evidence is found within a year, and he asserts that no charges remain. “There is no victim. And if there’s no victim, there is no crime. That is a universal principle.” He also claims that the woman named in the case submitted a written statement to the police denying the accusations.
A campaign of resistance through the null vote
In the most recent elections, Bolivia saw nearly 20% of the electorate cast null votes, the highest rate in its history. Morales sees this as a direct outcome of his last-minute campaign calling for nullification. “With only two weeks of campaigning, we came in third. If we had had a full month, we’d have come in first,” he argued.
He pointed to the strength of his political movement despite being stripped of its legal status. “This is still the largest movement in Bolivia, and it is not divided,” he insisted. As proof, he cited a massive demonstration on May 16 to support his candidacy, which drew 3.6 million people according to the Atlas Electoral poll.
Morales accused Bolivia’s Electoral Court of corruption, claiming they revoked the legal status of two parties offering him candidacy due to a US$200,000 bribe. “This is persecution not just of candidates, but of entire parties,” he said.
“I was never desperate to run”
Facing criticism from sectors of the left who accuse him of personal ambition, Morales responded by saying that his return to political leadership was a decision made by grassroots unions in 2020. “I said: consult your bases,” he explained. “They decided I should continue as a political and union leader.”
He claims to have rejected multiple offers to return to power via lower offices, such as the vice-presidency or a Senate seat. “I’m not desperate. I have history, important history, to do.”
Morales asserted that he rebuilt Bolivia’s economy without foreign loans or increased taxes and even reduced government salaries, including his own. He now believes the current administration is mismanaging the country. “The economic crisis is the result of a rightward turn. I distanced myself from Arce because he governs with the right.”
“They don’t want me to run because I would win”
According to Morales, electoral surveys show him polling between 42% and 45%, far ahead of government-backed candidates. “Without Evo, they get 14%, 11%. With Evo, 45%. That’s proof the movement is alive. The problem is they won’t let us participate.”
He warned of potential legal moves to block his candidacy and likened his situation to that of other Latin American leaders who faced judicial persecution, including Dilma Rousseff, Cristina Kirchner, and Rafael Correa. “They want to do the same to me, but they can’t.”
For now, Morales remains in the Tropic under round-the-clock protection. “Every union here takes turns guarding. Drones flew over in the early days, but they never dared come in,” he said. “I’m not hiding. I go to meetings nearby. But I can’t go to La Paz or Santa Cruz. That’s my problem.”
He argued that his policies, such as nationalizing resources and closing U.S. military bases, put him in direct conflict with global powers. “The United States never forgave me for that. I affected their global security.”
“We’re not defending companies; we’re defending the people”
Despite being 65, Morales joked that people tell him he looks 30 or 40. He says he has no intention of fleeing the country. “I will not run away. We are setting up a resistance plan to defend everything we’ve achieved, our social programs, our bonuses. They want to privatize electricity again, telecoms, hydrocarbons. We will defend what is ours.”
He describes himself as a rural worker who lives off his own fishing and citrus crops. “I’m a small producer. I make enough to eat and a bit more to sell.”
“Where is the São Paulo Forum now?”
Asked about his relationship with progressive leaders in the region, Morales noted that six presidents expressed support for him, including Nicolás Maduro and Gustavo Petro, but not Lula. “That’s his right,” he said, acknowledging that diplomatic pressures might explain the silence. “But this is political persecution. Arce is worse than Lenín Moreno.”
He described himself as ideologically aligned with Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, and argued that global politics remains a struggle between empire and people. “The people resist. We defeated the empire here, and we will do it again.”
Morales also echoed Lula’s calls for de-dollarizing international trade and criticized the U.S. role in global military conflicts. “The U.S. is no longer an economic power, only a military one. Without Nato, the U.S. wouldn’t exist,” he said.
He also backed the suggestion that the United Nations should no longer be headquartered in New York. “What does the U.S. export to the world? Bullets, wars, weapons,” he said, suggesting the UN should move to Brazil, Mexico, China, Russia, or Africa.
“Our greatest legacy is unity”
With a right-wing government likely to take power, Morales said the next administration will face enormous resistance. “They will win with 30% and have 70% of the country against them. Who will they govern with?”
liFor Morales, the greatest threat to Bolivia’s democratic and social gains is the return of colonial structures aligned against Indigenous people. “This is not just an attack on Evo, it’s an attack on the humble people. We need the State to fight capitalism.”
He concluded with a message of political perseverance. “Everything produced by capitalism is designed to kill the planet and crush popular movements. But our greatest legacy is unity. Only through unity can we defeat the empire.”
