Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace in a suspected coup attempt on Wednesday, as President Luis Arce called for democracy to be respected.

“We denounce irregular mobilisations by some units of the Bolivian Army,” Mr Arce said after Units from the Bolivian armed forces occupied central parts of the capital La Paz late on Wednesday. “Democracy must be respected.”

Evo Morales, the former president, wrote on X that “a coup d’Etat is brewing.”

“We call for a national mobilization to defend democracy,” he said, adding the alleged coup was being planned by army chief General Juan Jose Zuniga.

Separately, an army general gave voice to the military’s displeasure at the political chaos that has overtaken the Andean nation in recent months and announced the formation of a new cabinet – apparently without the prior knowledge or approval of his boss, Mr Arce.

Speaking on local TV, General Jose Zuñiga said: “The three chiefs of the armed forces have come to express our dismay. There will be a new cabinet of ministers, surely things will change, but our country cannot continue like this any longer.”

The dramatic development comes after months of tension between Mr Arce and his mentor and predecessor, former president Evo Morales.

Mr Morales, 64, was ousted in November 2019 after 13 years in office following allegations of voting irregularities as he ran for an unconstitutional third term. His close ally and former economy minister, Mr Arce, was elected president in November 2020.

But since then the pair’s bitter squabbling over which of them should run in the 2025 presidential election for their Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party has both split the party and the country.