(Bloomberg) -- Bolivia’s government accused Evo Morales of shooting at police after refusing to stop at a checkpoint, while the former president himself described the confused events on Sunday morning as an attempt to assassinate him.
According to the Interior Ministry, police had asked Morales’ driver to stop, near the town of Villa Tunari in the nation’s tropical lowlands. Instead of halting, the car accelerated and its occupants opened fire on the officers, Interior Minister Eduardo Del Castillo said in a webcast press conference Monday.
One policeman suffered a broken leg when he was hit by one of Morales’ vehicles, Castillo said. The minister said that Morales’s actions could lead to a charge of attempted murder.
“Nobody and nothing will save Evo from this,” Del Castillo told reporters.
Morales had earlier described the events as a plot on his life, and his allies in the socialist party MAS published a statement saying that the two cars in his convoy had been hit by a total of 18 bullets. His driver was also injured when his head was grazed by a bullet, while another round hit him in the arm, the statement said.
The former president managed to get clear while police officers sought refuge in a military base, he said.
The police hadn’t known that Morales was in the pursued vehicles, according to the minister.
The police cars were later torched by enraged Morales supporters.
Morales said in an interview Sunday that he had shot at the wheels of a car that had been pursuing him. His supporters accused President Luis Arce’s administration of trying to kill their leader to prevent him from running in next year’s election, as the split between the two factions from the ruling socialist party becomes increasingly bitter.
Morales’ lawyer, Wilfredo Chavez, said in a phone interview that the government’s version of events is “childish and unrealistic,” and questioned why it had taken them more than 24 hours to get their story straight.
Rape Charge
Separately, prosecutors are accusing Morales of statutory rape over an alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Morales says the charge is politically motivated, and swathes of Bolivia have been paralyzed over the last two weeks as his supporters block highways in protest.
His backers are also calling for him to be allowed to run in the 2025 general elections.
The nation of 12 million has seen repeated flare ups of social unrest since the central bank almost ran out of foreign currency reserves last year, leaving importers struggling to get hold of dollars. That’s led to shortages and accelerating inflation, aggravated by the clashes between supporters of Morales and Arce.
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