Since gaining independence in 1825, Bolivia has endured over 190 coups, 36 of them since 1945. Protests had begun over economic grievances, cast as a revolt against “neoliberalism,” but turned violent only when supporters of Evo Morales, the former socialist president and leader of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), converged on the capital, La Paz. The march came days after Morales failed to appear at his own child-trafficking trial, where he stands accused of impregnating a girl in her early teens.

On X, Morales has called Bolivia’s leaders “invaders” and “neocolonialists and imperialists.”