Former Bolivian President arrested

The Socialist Bulletin Staff - 11/12/2025

LUIS Arce, also known as Lucho, has just been arrested on 'corruption' charges by the new Bolivian regime.

Arce was previously President of Bolivia, until last month when he handed over the Presidency to right-wing candidate Rodrigo Paz following an election defeat.

Paz is a former police officer, who rose to fame on TikTok, making unsubstantiated claims of corruption in the government. 

Allies of Arce have claimed that he has been 'kidnapped' by the new government, which appears to be substantiated by the lack of charges, and the clear political intent, with Vice-President Edmand Lara celebrating that 'We said that Luis Arce would be the first to go to prison, and we are delivering.'

This indicates that the Paz government does not have legitimate reason to 'arrest' Arce, and that they are doing so for political reasons alone.

The ongoing situation in Bolivia shows that a socialist party cannot govern effectively, to the benefit of the working class, in a liberal democracy. Any socialist party must work towards building a socialist state, with the power of the proletariat prioritised over that of the bourgeoisie.