MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivia: Arce faces paternity lawsuit

Arce will retain private counseling because this is a personal matter, he explained

Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora is facing a paternity lawsuit from a former employee of his administration (a former director of the Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority - AJAM), who accused him of abandoning her and her child, born in 2024. The case was filed in Cochabamba for the crime of abandonment of a pregnant woman, which carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.

The plaintiff claims that she informed President Arce, 61, that she was pregnant with his child, but he “denied paternity” and “left us completely alone and abandoned.”

President Arce said during a press conference at the Casa Grande del Pueblo that he had not been officially notified of the complaint. However, he confirmed that once he does, he will use his “private lawyers” to defend himself against the allegations, which he considers a “personal matter.”

Cochabamba Prosecutor Osvaldo Tejerina confirmed that a complaint exists and that an investigation was underway. The case has been deemed “confidential” at the request of the woman.

Arce took office in 2020 on a ticket from the left-wing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). However, he has decided not to run for reelection and will leave the country's highest office in November. He is married and has three children.