MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian Army removes Wiphala from Coat of Arms

The reinstated design is now visible on the Army’s official website and social media accounts

The Bolivian Army announced Thursday the restoration of its original institutional coat of arms, a version that excludes the indigenous wiphala flag and other plurinational symbols integrated 15 years ago.

The reinstated design, which is now visible on the Army’s official website and social media, features the traditional elements: a star crowned by olive branches, the national tricolor flag, and the original motto: “Bolivian Army. Builders of the Nation.”

The change reverses a 2010 modification enacted during the administration of former President Evo Morales, which sought to reflect the country's plurinational identity within the Armed Forces.

The previous insignia, incorporated in 2010, included the wiphala flag; Indigenous symbols such as an axe, a bow, an arrow, and a Tiwanaku sun; the kantuta and patujú flowers, which then-Vice President Álvaro García Linera said symbolized the country's “unity of our geographical and class diversity;” and the The motto “Homeland or death, we shall overcome.”

Commenting on the change, President Rodrigo Paz Pereira pointed out that the wiphala was not part of the national coat of arms, but just “another symbol.” He also defended the restoration, stating that the national coat of arms has accompanied Bolivia since its inception: “I see no contradiction; it is a coat of arms that identifies us all, and I believe that no one will deny our national coat of arms.”

The decision to return to the traditional design has generated public discussion about the political and cultural message it conveys amid the recent change in the national administration.