LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (AP) 鈥 Hundreds of supporters of ex-President Evo Morales marched toward Bolivia's top electoral court on Friday to push for their leftist leader's candidacy in presidential elections later this year, a rally that descended into street clashes as police tried to clear out a group of demonstrators.
The confrontations come in response to a ruling by Bolivia鈥檚 Constitutional Court that blocks Morales, the nation's first Indigenous president who governed from 2006 until his ouster in 2019, from running again in Aug. 17 elections.
The turmoil escalates political tensions as Bolivia undergoes its .
As the march arrived in Bolivia鈥檚 capital of La Paz, protesters seeking to register Morales鈥 candidacy surged toward the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, chanting, 鈥淐omrades, what do we want? For Evo to come back!鈥
Security forces barricading a road to the court held them back. Police reported that the clashes between rock-throwing protesters and tear gas-lobbing police forces injured two officers, a journalist and a local merchant.
"They're using firecrackers and rocks that are hurting our forces," said police Commander Juan Russo. 鈥淭his is not a peaceful march.鈥
The authorities did not report on any injuries among the protesters, who were seen being pushed onto the ground, shoved into police cars and blasted with tear gas.
The court's unanimous decision Wednesday upheld an earlier ruling that bans presidents from serving more than two terms. Morales has already served three, and, in 2019, resigned under pressure from the military and went into exile as protests erupted over his bid for an unprecedented fourth term.
Morales returned to Bolivia a year later as the 2020 elections vaulted to power his preferred candidate, President Luis Arce, from his long-dominant Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party.
Arce, who , insisted that the Constitutional Court had disqualified Morales, his , from running in 2025.
But many experts doubt the legitimacy of that decision in a country where and presidents have maneuvered to get their allies on the bench.
鈥淭he Constitutional Court issues unconstitutional arbitrary rulings at the whim of those in power,鈥 said Morales, who himself reaped the benefits of favorable judges while seeking to run for a fourth consecutive term in 2017.
After Morales lost a referendum seeking to do away with term limits while still in power, the Constitutional Court ruled it would be against Morales鈥 human rights to stop him from running for another term.
That 2017 ruling allows Morales to register his candidacy, said Oscar Hassentoufel, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. 鈥淭hen the tribunal will decide whether he's eligible or not.鈥
In defiance of the latest court ruling, Morales called a mass march that marshaled his loyal supporters in the rural tropics. for transforming the country during his tenure 鈥 redistributing Bolivia鈥檚 natural gas wealth and seeking greater inclusion for its Indigenous majority.
Holed up in his stronghold that he claims are politically motivated, Morales did not attend the march.
The government confirmed that fear on Friday. 鈥淲e ask Mr. Morales to surrender voluntarily,鈥 said Eduardo del Castillo, a key minister in Arce's government whom the MAS party endorsed for president later Friday in place of Arce. "If we find him walking the streets, we will arrest him.鈥
Instead, scores of his supporters walked the capital's streets on Friday wearing masks of Morales' face.
鈥淓vo Morales is each and every one of us. If they want to detain Evo Morales they would need to take every one of us, too,鈥 aid David Ochoa, a representative of the marchers.
