Bolivia's government claims Morales fuels protests to evade human trafficking trial

Bolivia's government has leveled a stark accusation: that Evo Morales, the country's former president, is orchestrating the massive street protests demanding Rodrigo Paz's resignation not out of genuine political conviction, but to escape justice. On Tuesday, presidential spokesman José Luis Gálvez told international media that Morales is using the unrest as cover to avoid standing trial on charges of aggravated human trafficking.

The accusation carries weight because Morales faces real legal jeopardy. A week before Gálvez's statement, a court in the southern region of Tarija declared Morales in rebellion after he failed to appear for the start of his trial. The charges stem from his alleged relationship with a minor during his presidency in 2016, a relationship that allegedly produced a child. The court issued a new arrest warrant. Morales has not been seen in public to face these charges; instead, he remains sheltered in the Cochabamba region, in the country's coca-growing heartland, surrounded by hundreds of loyal supporters who form a protective barrier between him and authorities.

Gálvez's argument is straightforward: Morales wants to "dodge his responsibilities before the courts," and the protests are his instrument. The spokesman emphasized that the mobilizations demanding Paz's removal show no genuine interest in dialogue with the government. Rather, they are designed to distract the population from Morales's obligation to appear before Bolivian judges and explain his legal situation. Gálvez also noted that Morales faces additional legal exposure beyond Bolivia's borders—a criminal complaint filed by the Apollo Foundation in Argentina alleging abuse, corruption, and trafficking of minors during his time there as a political exile in 2020. The spokesman suggested it was only right that Morales answer for these actions.

Morales has not remained silent. Speaking to Argentine radio stations, he reframed the unrest entirely, describing it as "a rebellion against the application of the neoliberal model and against the neocolonial state." He directed his criticism at Paz's announced economic reform plan. He also made a more inflammatory claim: that two Argentine military transport planes sent to Bolivia in recent days to deliver food to cities cut off by roadblocks were actually carrying tear gas and rubber bullets. Gálvez dismissed this as a lie, insisting the Argentine aircraft carried only food supplies from the eastern Santa Cruz region to La Paz.

The backdrop to this political standoff is a country in crisis. For fourteen days, the La Paz department has been cut off from the rest of Bolivia by roadblocks. These blockades were initiated by peasant unions with backing from the Central Obrera Boliviana, the country's main labor federation, and groups aligned with Morales. The isolation has disrupted food supplies and civilian movement across the country. Gálvez characterized the mobilization as an attempt to break the constitutional order and said the demand for Paz's resignation makes no sense. He argued the government must distinguish between sectors with legitimate grievances that deserve to be heard and those pursuing political goals outside the constitutional framework.

The trial itself remains suspended. It will only resume when Morales presents himself to judicial authorities or when police successfully execute the arrest warrant. For now, Morales remains in his stronghold, the protests continue, the roads stay blocked, and the question of whether the unrest is genuinely rooted in economic discontent or is indeed a calculated distraction from a man facing serious criminal charges remains unanswered—and increasingly urgent.