Morales’s ally Arce returns to Bolivia to run for president in May election

Luis Arce, the presidential candidate for Evo Morales’s Movement for Socialism party, returned to Bolivia on Tuesday following self-imposed exile in Mexico, AFP reported. Arce, a former economy minister, is due to stand for Movement to Socialism (MAS) in the May 3 election aiming to extend the socialist party’s hold on the presidency for a fourth term.

Morales was in power for almost 14 years before resigning on November 10 following three weeks of, at times, violent protests against his reelection in an October poll.

After resigning, Morales fled into exile in Mexico before settling in neighboring Argentina a month later. He is barred from standing in the May election and the interim government accuses him of sedition.

Interim president Jeanine Anez announced her candidacy on Sunday despite having previously insisted her role was only to lead the country into elections.