Former Bolivian President Luis Arce was arrested as part of a corruption investigation into his tenure as economy minister, officials said Wednesday.
Arce’s detention comes a month after he left office and less than two months after centrist candidate Rodrigo Paz won an October election.
Economic concerns dominated this year’s election campaign as Bolivians expressed a desire for change, with many growing disillusioned with the country’s Movement Toward Socialism party, widely known as MAS.
Bolivians elected Paz this year, ending two decades of socialist rule in the Latin American country.
Here are the main points:
- Former President Luis Arce arrested in La Paz
- Vice President Edmund Lara says the case concerns alleged embezzlement of public funds
- Sample from Arce’s period as Economy Minister under Evo Morales, who ruled between 2006 and 2019
- Investigation relating to alleged transfer of public funds to political figures
- Aide Maria Nella Prada says Arce is innocent
Vice President Edmund Lara confirmed the news of Arce’s detention in a video posted on TikTok.
Lara further said that since the new government wants accountability, AARC will be the first of many targets.
“Those who have stolen from this country will return all their money,” Lara said, before ending her video by wishing “death to the corrupt.”
Arce detained as part of corruption investigation
According to officials, the corruption investigation dates back to when Arce served as economy minister during the socialist presidency of Evo Morales, who was in office from 2006 to 2019.
Arce, 62, became president in 2020. He finished his five-year term and did not seek re-election after the August vote, with his presidency facing multiple shortages of fuel and foreign currency, leading to widespread protests.
The former president is accused of authorizing transfers from the public treasury to the personal accounts of political leaders.
One alleged beneficiary was former lawmaker Lydia Patty, who was arrested last week on charges of receiving nearly $100,000 for a tomato farming project.
Sources in the prosecutor’s office told AFP that Arce would have to answer charges of dereliction of duty and “economic misconduct”.
Allies rejected the allegations
Arce’s minister of the presidency and closest ally, María Nella Prada, agreed that the allegations appeared to be during her tenure as economy minister.
Speaking outside the headquarters of a special police force dedicated to fighting corruption, he insisted on Arce’s innocence. “Of course he is innocent, I can confirm that,” she said.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar