ABSTRACT
In Bolivia, the November 2019 political crisis rekindled the popular fear of the historical identity of the armed forces and their clear link to the powers that be. The ‘suggestion’ made the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, that Evo Morales, the constitutional president of Bolivia, should step down, was a discordant note in the apparently smooth relations between the military and the plurinational government led by Morales since 2006. This chapter seeks to characterise the relationship between the armed forces and the government of Morales’ Movement for Socialism—Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of Peoples (MAS-IPSP) and the de facto irregular government that took power in 2019. It draws from the premise that the armed forced are a key factor in the reproduction of a traditional democracy, thus preventing the transformation of the state into a plurinational popular one. Firstly, the chapter offers an overview of the defining traits of the ‘Armed Forces of the Plurinational State of Bolivia’ from a historical perspective. Secondly, it describes the main aspects of the relationship between the military and the Morales government from 2006 to 2019. Then, the chapter addresses the role of the armed forces in the 2019 coup d’état and their relationship with the irregular government in 2020. And finally, it offers an assessment of the new MAS-IPSP government and the challenges that it faces, including its relationship with the armed forces and their reform.
