The statutory rape allegations against former Bolivian President Evo Morales 

Evo Morales, President of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, was accused via an anonymous complaint of statutory rape against a 15-year-old girl while still in office, according to the Bolivian Ministry of Justice. 

“We have observed with indignation grave crimes that pretend to go unpunished. I am concretely referring to a girl who was raped at 15, 16 years old. As a consequence of the rape, she birthed another girl, whose father is Evo Morales Ayma, as recognized in the birth certificate,” stated César Siles, Minister of Justice and Institutional Transparency at a press conference on October 3. 

The victim, who has remained anonymous, was allegedly forced by her parents to engage in sexual relations with the former president in exchange for political favors, which constitutes human trafficking, according to Siles. 

An investigation against the former president was first announced in 2019 for alleged statutory rape, sexual abuse and human trafficking after text messages and pictures between Morales and a 19-year-old girl were leaked, as reported by El País. The information on the relationship between Morales and the 15-year-old girl, however, was announced in early October 2024. 

What’s next? 

Juan Lanchipa, Bolivia’s Attorney General, announced on October 7 that, in light of the ongoing investigation against the former president, Morales and the victim’s parents were to testify before the Prosecutor’s Commission that Thursday. 

An arrest warrant was issued for the former president and the alleged victim’s parents on the same evening, as the parties did not attend the Commission’s session, according to Bolivian newspaper El Deber. 

Jorge Pérez, Bolivia’s former Minister of Government and Morales’ lawyer, presented two memos explaining the former president’s absence, although the prosecutor on the case assured that not testifying could not be justified in a criminal process, as per El Deber. 

The father of the alleged victim, however, was arrested on October 11, as confirmed by Álvaro José Álvarez, General Commander of the Bolivian Police. 

A disputed party 

Although Morales has not directly responded to the allegations, he has denounced judicial abuse and intimidation by the government.

“The government of Luis Arce is forcing a criminal process. By inventing accusations, bending the law and with complicity from justice’s hitmen, they intend to arrest us and end our lives,” the former president stated on X. 

Current President Luis Arce was Morales’ Economy Minister before he was sacked from office for alleged electoral fraud in 2019. From his exile in Argentina, Morales announced Arce as his replacement in the Presidential elections, as per El País. 
Fractures emerged after Arce was sworn into office in November 2020, following Morales’ resignation and a year-long de facto government. This split both leader’s party, the Socialist Movement (MAS), especially after both men announced their intention to run in the 2025 presidential elections, according to El País.