We are going to make ourselves respected
En las alturas políticas de Bolivia, el expresidente Evo Morales ha salido de la penumbra de la insinuación para reclamar abiertamente la conducción de las movilizaciones que paralizan el Chapare. Frente a una orden de arresto pendiente y un gobierno que lo acusa de vínculos con el narcoterrorismo, Morales convierte los bloqueos de carreteras en trinchera política y escudo personal a la vez. Es el momento en que un líder en declive decide que la visibilidad es más segura que el silencio, y que la confrontación abierta puede ser la única forma de seguir siendo relevante.
- Morales rompió semanas de ambigüedad calculada al declararse públicamente comandante de los bloqueos que cortan servicios básicos en el Chapare, elevando la tensión de golpe.
- Una operación gubernamental en San Julián el sábado encendió la mecha: Morales usó su programa radial para alertar a sus bases y convocar una reunión de planificación que definiría la próxima fase de resistencia.
- El presidente Paz contraatacó acusando a Morales de ordenar refuerzos para intensificar la violencia y vinculando a los grupos movilizados con recursos del narcoterrorismo, reencuadrando el conflicto como amenaza a la seguridad del Estado.
- Los bloqueos siguen en pie, la orden de arresto sigue vigente, y los cocaleros del Chapare aguardan que la retórica se convierta en acción concreta, con el riesgo real de una escalada violenta en las próximas semanas.
Un domingo por la mañana, desde su programa semanal en Radio Kausachun Coca, Evo Morales hizo explícito lo que muchos suponían: él estaba al frente de los bloqueos que llevaban semanas paralizando partes de Bolivia. Anunció una reunión de planificación, advirtió a sus seguidores sobre supuestos movimientos militares y declaró que su movimiento resistiría lo que llamó una provocación exagerada. "Nos vamos a hacer respetar", dijo, con la voz de quien ya no opera en las sombras.
Morales lidera a los cocaleros del Chapare en Cochabamba. Sus seguidores habían bloqueado carreteras durante semanas, pero la autoría oficial de esos bloqueos había permanecido sin reclamar. Al asumirla públicamente, Morales dejó de ser el estadista que comenta desde los márgenes para convertirse en el comandante de un movimiento en pie de guerra. Los bloqueos no eran solo una herramienta política: también funcionaban como barrera protectora frente a la orden de arresto que pesa sobre él.
El presidente Rodrigo Paz respondió al día siguiente durante una ceremonia de promulgación de ley. Acusó a Morales de haber ordenado públicamente el envío de refuerzos a San Julián para intensificar la violencia, y afirmó que los grupos movilizados reciben recursos vinculados al narcoterrorismo. Con esas palabras, Paz reencuadró el conflicto: ya no se trata de un reclamo regional o laboral, sino de una amenaza a la seguridad del Estado.
Los dos hombres hablan ahora en el lenguaje de la confrontación directa, sin puentes visibles. Morales invoca la resistencia y el respeto; Paz invoca el orden y el crimen organizado. En el Chapare, los caminos siguen cortados y la gente espera ver qué forma tomará esa resistencia cuando pase de las palabras a los hechos.
On a Sunday radio program, Evo Morales stepped into the open about what had been implicit for weeks: he was leading the roadblocks and mobilizations that had paralyzed parts of Bolivia. Speaking on his weekly show on Radio Kausachun Coca, the former president announced a planning meeting and declared his movement would resist what he called an exaggerated provocation and direct aggression. "We are going to make ourselves respected," he said, his voice carrying the weight of a man no longer operating in shadows.
Morales, who leads the coca growers of the Chapare region in Cochabamba, had been careful with his language until that broadcast. His supporters had been blocking highways for weeks, ostensibly to protect their interests, but the machinery behind those roadblocks had remained officially unattributed. Now he was claiming it openly. He spoke of unconfirmed intelligence about military movements, warned his base to stay alert, and signaled that Sunday's planning session would chart the next phase of resistance. The basic services in the Chapare had been cut off. The roads remained blocked. His followers were positioned not just to protest but to shield him—an arrest warrant hung over his head, and the roadblocks served as both political tool and protective barrier.
The timing of Morales' declaration was pointed. On Saturday, government forces had conducted an operation in San Julián, a town in the region. Morales used his radio platform to discuss it, to warn his people, and to prepare them for what he framed as an inevitable escalation. He was no longer the elder statesman offering commentary from the margins. He was the commander of a movement, and he was saying so aloud.
President Rodrigo Paz responded the next day with accusations of his own. During a ceremony to sign a law on states of exception, Paz alleged that groups opposing his government had access to resources tied to narcoterrorism. He pointed directly at Morales, claiming the former president had publicly ordered reinforcements to San Julián to intensify violence. Paz was reframing the conflict: this was not a labor dispute or a regional grievance. This was a security threat, a challenge to state authority, possibly something darker.
The two men were now speaking past each other in the language of confrontation. Morales called the government's actions aggression and spoke of resistance and respect. Paz called Morales a threat to order and invoked the specter of criminal networks. The roadblocks continued. The arrest warrant remained. And in the Chapare, people waited to see what the planning meeting would produce, what resistance would look like when it moved from rhetoric to action.
Notable Quotes
We have a planning meeting and we are going to resist, because this provocation is already excessive, a direct aggression. We are going to make ourselves respected.— Evo Morales, on Radio Kausachun Coca
The leader in the Chapare yesterday gave the order to reinforce forces in San Julián so that violence would be greater; he said it publicly yesterday in a media outlet.— President Rodrigo Paz, in reference to Morales
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Morales choose to acknowledge his leadership so directly on the radio? Wasn't he safer staying in the background?
He was already the obvious leader. Everyone knew. The question was whether he would own it or let it remain deniable. By speaking openly, he was signaling to his base that he wasn't hiding, that he was willing to be the face of this.
And the arrest warrant—how does that factor into his calculation?
It's the whole calculation. The roadblocks aren't just political theater. They're a protective cordon. As long as his followers control the roads, the government can't easily move against him. By announcing the planning meeting, he's saying the movement is organized and ready to escalate.
What does Paz gain by accusing Morales of narcoterrorism connections?
He's trying to delegitimize the movement, to make it about crime rather than politics. If he can convince people this is about drug money and violence, not coca growers' rights, the narrative shifts. It becomes a security operation, not a political conflict.
Is there any chance this de-escalates?
Not from what either man is saying. Morales is announcing planning meetings and vowing resistance. Paz is invoking emergency powers and narcoterrorism. Both are moving toward confrontation, not away from it.