The Bolivian Evo Morales accused in Argentina of crimes against humanity

The former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma, faces a serious criminal complaint for crimes against humanity filed in Argentine federal courts. The accusation, driven by the Argentine Forum for Democracy in the Region (FADER) and supported by Bolivian victims of his regime, was randomly assigned to Federal Court No. 5, under the charge of Judge María Eugenia Capuchetti.

The extensive 45-page document, accessed by the media, systematizes 21 cases admitted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for serious violations committed during almost 14 years of Morales's government (2006-2019). He is accused of fostering an authoritarian system where judicial independence was dissolved, opponents were violently repressed, and the press was silenced.

One of the most compelling examples is the case of the German Dirk Schmidt, a former official of the Santa Cruz government, presented by the government as a supposed "terrorist" involved in an armed uprising. The complaint reveals that the Bolivian Ministry of Governmentfiled false accusations against him, including criminal organization, sedition, usurpation of public functions, and legitimization of illicit profits.

Another case cited is that of Rosario Canedo, a former minister of the Supreme Court of Justice, who reported being prosecuted without evidence after releasing a former opposition prefect. The case, admitted by the IACHR in 2022 through Report 192/22, is based on violations of the right to personal integrity, private property, judicial guarantees, equality before the law, and protection of honor and dignity, among others.

According to the document, the Bolivian State was formally notified in all cases, without any progress being made. This judicial inaction and state collusion would justify, according to the complainants, the intervention of Argentine Justice under the principle of universal jurisdiction in matters of crimes against humanity. There are already similar precedents, such as the indictment against Nicolás Maduro by Argentine courts.

"The lack of judicial guarantees in Bolivia renders any attempt at local justice inoperative, which is why this action before Argentine courts is necessary," the complainants argue. The document also recalls that international organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have warned about the use of criminal justice as a tool of political persecution under Morales's command.

Meanwhile, alongside this new international judicial onslaught, Evo Morales insists on his presidential candidacy for the upcoming August elections, despite being disqualified by the Constitutional Court, which prohibits continuous reelection.

Morales's candidacy has caused friction with the current president Luis Arce, who publicly asked him to refrain from competing to avoid "the division of the popular vote." Morales replied with a lengthy statement published on his official account on X (@evoespueblo), reaffirming his electoral ambition and his rejection of the constitutional ruling:

"Only the people can ask me to withdraw the candidacy. We have no personal ambitions. We will obey the people's mandate to save Bolivia once again. We will never renounce our revolutionary conscience. With the people's strength, we remain standing.

Once again, we call on the brothers and sisters who have distanced themselves to return to the family, to the cradle of the true revolution, so that, together and united, we triumph at the polls and rebuild the destroyed homeland.

We have already demonstrated that we know how to govern by ensuring stability and economic growth. With us, there was never a shortage of fuel or dollars; for 14 years, we maintained a single exchange rate; we distributed the state's wealth to the people, in works and bonuses; and we defended our natural resources against the voracity of the Empire and its transnationals."