Fighting between rival factions of the ruling party

Rival factions of Bolivia’s ruling party clashed in the city of La Paz.

Video shows the party’s faithful throwing rocks, wielding sticks and punching each other.

The Socialist Movement (Mas) is deeply divided, with some supporting current President Luis Arce and others supporting former President Evo Morales.

Their competition has become more intense as the general election, scheduled for August 2025, approaches.

The socialist movement has always been a powerful force in Bolivian politics.

Except for a one-year break from November 2019 to November 2020, its candidate has served as national president for the past 18 years.

But differences between the two most prominent leaders have divided their followers, with them attacking each other outside the offices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on Wednesday.

Both Mr Morales and President Arce have arrived at the Tokyo Stock Exchange to discuss next year’s election with other party leaders.

Clashes outside the electoral court lasted for hours, with Arce’s supporters chanting his nickname and “You are not alone!” while Mr Morales’ men chanted “President Evo, President Evo” .

The mayor of La Paz, who was calling for calm at the scene, was hit in the face with a stone and injured.

The brawl showed how acrimonious relations have become between supporters of the former president and the current leader.

Mr Morales has long been the undisputed leader of Mas, leading the party to electoral victories in 2005, 2009 and 2014.

However, his decision to run for president for a fourth consecutive time in the 2019 elections drew criticism from some within the party as well as opposition forces.

Those who oppose Morales’s re-election argue that it goes against the will of the people, as Bolivians voted against lifting presidential term limits in 2016.

But supporters of the president say a 2017 Constitutional Court decision to lift term limits makes his fourth candidacy legally justified.

Morales was declared the winner of the 2019 election, but resigned weeks later and went into exile amid ongoing protests over reports of vote-counting irregularities.

Morales has long maintained that he was forced to resign by the military and that his departure constituted a “coup”.

A caretaker government led by right-wing senator Jeanne Áñez leads Bolivia until new polls are scheduled.

In re-elections the following year, Luis Arce, Mr. Morales’s former finance minister and staunch ally, ran on behalf of Mas’s party and won in a landslide.

Mr Morales returned to the country but soon fell out with Mr Arce.

In September 2023, Morales announced that he would participate in the 2025 Mas party elections, which brought him into conflict with Arce, who was expected to run for re-election.

The rift between the two men widened further after the events of June 24, the day Bolivian army commander General Juan José Zuniga appeared to launch a coup against President Arce.

Mr Morales initially condemned General Zuniga’s actions, but the former president has since claimed that the incident was orchestrated by President Arce himself to boost his own popularity.

Mr. Arce has denied launching a “self-coup” and dismissed comments from General Zuniga, who said he acted at Mr. Arce’s behest.