Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Virtual Format

We, the Heads of State and Government, representatives of the ALBA-TCP member countries, meeting on July 10, 2024, in an extraordinary virtual session, declare:

That last June 26, in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, military troops and artillery assault vehicles, under the command of the former Commander of the Army Gen. Juan José Zúñiga, together with the former Commanders of the Air Force Gen. Av. Marcelo Zegarra and of the Navy Con. Juan Arnez S, broke into the Plaza Murillo, seat of government in La Paz, with the purpose of staging a coup d’état and taking control of the government by force of arms, breaking the legitimate constitutional order.

That the courageous position of President Luis Arce Catacora, the spontaneous people’s mobilization, the announcement of the social movements to stage a national road blockade and an indefinite general strike in defense of the democratically elected government, and the immediate rejection of the international community, were key elements for the defeat of this attempted coup;

Our firm rejection of any coup d’état or attempted coup d’état, in any form whatsoever, as they represent a threat to democracy, to the constitutional order, to social peace and to the well-being of the people;

Our rejection of the position of the President of the Argentine Republic, Javier Milei, who, in view of the undeniable facts and countless evidences emerging from the investigations demonstrating that there was a failed military coup d’état, continues with his aggressions against the government and people of Bolivia.

Our unwavering commitment to the free self-determination and sovereignty of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and all the peoples, strongly rejecting any form of interference, both overt and covert;

In this sense, we decided to:

1. Reaffirm our commitment and unrestricted support to the constitutional and legitimate government of the President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Luis Arce Catacora.
2. Congratulate President Luis Arce and his people who, in a few hours, defeated the coup plans.
3. Reaffirm that Latin America and the Caribbean is a Zone of Peace, in which we are committed to eradicate forever the use or threat of the use of force and where States promote integration and cooperation processes and friendly relations, in order to guarantee the greatest possible stability and development.
4. Demand to the Government of President Milei to immediately cease the harassment and the aggression against the legitimate Government of Bolivia, as well as offenses against other ALBA-TCP countries. We call the world’s attention to the fact that the Argentine President deploys a policy with imperialist leanings towards progressive and leftist governments, which only encourage hatred, polarization and destabilization of dignified and sovereign peoples.
5. Denounce that within the framework of the hybrid war, a brutal media and social network war, a systematic harassment, economic blockade and diverse forms of political aggression are being deployed, aimed at discrediting the government of President Arce and creating the conditions for a larger scale intervention and the shortening of his constitutional term in office.
6. Express the greatest solidarity with President Luis Arce and other public servants of his government, who are being subjected to a smear campaign by right-wing political sectors.
7. Urge the Ambassadors of the ALBA-TCP member countries around the world to develop a campaign of information and dissemination of the truth about what is happening in the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the threats it faces.
8. Call upon social movements, workers, students, peasants, indigenous peoples and intellectuals to continue to be vigilant in order to inform the whole world about the dangers that threaten the constitutional order and the democracy of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, together in solid unity, which is fundamental for the preservation and progress of the social changes of that beloved nation, and also, for the unity and defense of Our America.
9. Confirm our regional commitment to the defense of the sovereignty on the strategic resources existing in our territories, a reason for the ambition of foreign interests alien to our regional reality and perpetrators of subversive destabilization campaigns and coups d’état.
10. Reaffirm that ALBA-TCP will continue to promote the defense of the strategic resources existing in Our America from the voracious intentions of foreign forces, as well as the promotion of unity, integration, solidarity and peaceful coexistence, as an expression of the Latin American and Caribbean ideal and commitment to the construction of a region and a world of peace, as a fundamental basis for consolidating sustainable development and harmonious relations among peoples.