The Constitutional Court, however, made it clear that the Constitution does not allow discontinuous reelection. On Wednesday, the Plurinational Constitutional Court (TCP) established that presidential reelection can only occur once continuously and without the possibility of a third term.

The court ruling clarifies the Bolivian Constitution’s Article 168, which establishes that the president and vice president can be reelected “only once continuously,” and which left doubts about whether discontinuous reelection was permitted. The TCP’s interpretation also applies to those seeking reelection as national legislators, governors, mayors, regional assembly members, and municipal councilors.

As a result of the Constitutional Court ruling, the historic leader of the Bolivian left, Evo Morales, would not be eligible to run in the August 17 elections, as he had previously served as president three times: 2006-2009, 2010-2014, and 2015-2019.

“Bolivian election candidate Andrónico Rodriguez advocates for unity after Arce’s resignation and criticizes the MAS’s disputes.” On Tuesday, President Luis Arce renounced his reelection bid and challenged Morales to follow the same path with the goal of “closing ranks” around the most popular leftist candidate. Arce asked Senate President Andronico Rodriguez, who a couple of weeks ago decided to distance himself from Morales and run for the Bolivian presidency on his own, to join the unity of the leftist popular bloc.

In response, Morales rejected Arce’s challenge and reaffirmed his intention to seek the Bolivian presidency again. “Only the people can ask me to decline my candidacy. We have no personal ambitions. We will obey the people’s mandate to save Bolivia again. We will never renounce our revolutionary consciousness. With the strength of the people, we remain standing,” he said.

“Once again, we call on the brothers and sisters who have distanced themselves to return to their families and to the cradle of the true revolution so that we, together and united, can triumph at the polls and rebuild the destroyed homeland,” Morales stressed.

“We have already demonstrated that we know how to govern while guaranteeing stability and economic growth. With us, there has never been a shortage of fuel or dollars. For 14 years, we maintained a single exchange rate, distributed the state’s wealth to the people through public works projects and bonds, and defended our natural resources against the voracity of the Empire and its transnational corporations,” he concluded.

The president of the Senate and candidate to the Bolivian elections, Andrónico Rodríguez, has referred to the challenge launched by the president, Luis Arce, to lead a project of unity around the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), although he has not spared criticism towards the internal struggles within the ruling party.

“We reaffirm our commitment to a true and transparent unity, built facing the people and not through dark pacts or agreements behind the back of the people. Ho is necessary a radical change”, has begun Rodriguez in a series of messages through his account in the social network X.

Rodríguez regretted that “the mobilizations for and against have eroded the organic, political and institutional credibility”, leading the country to “a deep economic crisis”. Likewise, he has criticized “the overreach, the abuse of power, the corruption cases, the imprisoned peasant brothers”, as well as “the incessant accusations and attacks”, or “the division of social organizations” as causes of this weakening of the MAS forces, after 20 years of government in Bolivia.

“Faced with this context, we will maintain firm our consequence and political coherence, making a sincere call for the unity of the national popular bloc, appealing mainly to our organizations and social sectors, rather than to a political leadership that has lost connection with the grassroots,” he said.

Rodriguez thus picks up the gauntlet thrown hours before by Arce, who announced his resignation to run in the elections called for August 17, marked by the fratricidal struggle within the MAS, after the expulsion of former President Evo Morales, who for now has not resigned from the presidential race.

Arce referred directly to Rodríguez during his speech to ask him to assume “the challenge of thinking and acting in function of the unity of the people”, at the same time that he urged Morales to renounce his candidacy. “Constitutionally he cannot and the division only favors the right,” he said.

However, the former president rejected the proposal and stressed that “only the people” can ask him for such a thing and highlighted his years at the helm of the country. “We have already demonstrated that we know how to govern guaranteeing stability and economic growth. With us there was never a lack of fuel or dollars“, he said in X. ”We have no personal ambitions. We are going to obey the mandate of the people to save, once again, Bolivia. We will never renounce our revolutionary conscience. With the strength of the people we continue standing,” he signed.

Morales has also made a new appeal “to the brothers and sisters who moved away”, to return “to the cradle of the true revolution” and together win these elections. “Let’s rebuild the destroyed homeland”, he has appealed. A few days ago, Rodriguez, 36 years old, announced his candidacy, thus dissociating himself from both currents. Although he initially sided with Morales, his political godfather, in the dispute for control of MAS, he gradually distanced himself as the voices supporting his candidacy grew.

Rodríguez emerged as an important figure within the ruling party after the power vacuum caused by the political crisis of 2019, which resulted in the fall of Morales and the self-proclamation as president of a Jeanine Áñez, sentenced to ten years in prison for crimes of coup d’état and rebellion. In the midst of the disputes among opposition candidates, Rodríguez is positioned as one of the candidates to win this year’s August elections.

President Maduro managed to rescue the two-year-old girl who was being held in a shelter without the protection of her parents. On Wednesday, Communications Minister Freddy Ñañez confirmed that Maikelys Espinoza Bernal returned to her homeland on a flight with 226 migrants who were repatriated from the U.S. to Venezuela.

This two-year-old girl became the center of an international controversy after being separated from her family by U.S, immigration authorities. Her parents, Yorely Bernal and Maiker Espinoza, who entered the U.S. in May 2024 seeking asylum, were deported separately. Accused of belonging to the Aragua Train gang, the little girl’s father was sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, while Maikely’s mother was deported on a flight out of the U.S.

U.S. authorities arbitrarily detained these Venezuelan migrants and used ethnic profiling, as the accusations against them were based on their tattoos, which included cartoon characters and personal symbols, rather than any concrete evidence of criminal activity, as the Daily Beast recalled.

“The arrival of Maikelys Espinoza, the rescued girl who had been kidnapped by the U.S. government, is confirmed. Once the deportation process began, Maikelys was placed in a shelter where she remained for weeks without contact with her loved ones. These abuses sparked outrage both inside and outside the U.S.

Over the past few weeks, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has condemned the abuses against the Espinoza Bernal family as a violation of international law, accusing the United States government of kidnapping the two-year-old girl.

“Victory for justice! Maikelys Espinoza has returned to Venezuela, thanks to the tireless efforts of President Nicolas Maduro. A triumph for the Venezuelan people!,” stressed community communicator Ronald Tovar, referring to the new success achieved through the Return to the Homeland Plan.

Spain’s Consul-General to Jerusalem, José Javier Gutiérrez Blanco-Navarrete, visited Tulkarm governorate to witness firsthand the devastation caused by Israeli military aggression, particularly in the Nur Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps. During his visit, Blanco-Navarrete was briefed on key issues, including:

• Military checkpoints and closures restricting movement
• Systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure
• Mass house demolitions and settler attacks
• Forced displacement of over 40,000 Palestinians

Deputy Governor Faisal Salameh outlined the severe economic repercussions, citing soaring unemployment as Israel’s closure policies prevent thousands of workers from accessing jobs in the 1948 Territories. Markets and businesses have become inaccessible, further strangling economic growth. Blanco-Navarrete emphasized Spain’s commitment to ongoing cooperation with Palestinian authorities, underscoring the importance of diplomatic consultation and collaboration.