President Luis Arce’s career has mirrored Bolivia’s economic trajectory from boom to bust

The president of Bolivia, who was the target of an attempted coup on Wednesday night, is a 60-year-old leftist whom many see as an opponent of Washington-backed free-market and neoliberal policies.

Luis Arce, who studied economics in London, was economy minister under President Evo Morales, whose time in office from 2006 to 2019 made him an icon of the Latin American left.

After Morales left office, Arce became president in November 2020, following Jeanine Añez’s short time in office.

Bolivian television showed Arce confronting the apparent leader of the rebellion in the hallway of the government palace Wednesday night.

“I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.

Arce’s career has mirrored Bolivia’s economic trajectory from boom to bust. He worked in the Central Bank from 1987 to 2006 and worked for Morales administering a bonanza in metals and hydrocarbons prices that came to be known as the “Bolivian Miracle.”

But by the time, Arce took office, Bolivia was hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and social tensions set off by Morales’ 2019 departure after street protests and extreme pressure from the military.