CARACOLLO, Bolivia (AP) — Thousands of anti-government demonstrators marching in support of Bolivia’s former President Evo Morales clashed on Tuesday with counterprotesters blocking their way, a stark sign of an escalating power struggle in the volatile Andean nation.
In his most brazen show of force yet against current President Luis Arce, Morales sent word to his followers to mobilize what he called a “March to Save Bolivia,” a 190-kilometer (118 mile)-trek from the small village of Caracollo to the capital, La Paz, denouncing the government of his protege-turned-bitter rival.
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Demonstrators carrying wiphala flags march to the capital from Caracollo, Oruro, Bolivia, led by former President Evo Morales as part of a political dispute with current President Luis Arce and to protest his handling of the economy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Demonstrators give an offering to Mother Earth before marching to the capital, led by former President Evo Morales, as part of a political dispute with current President Luis Arce and to protest his handling of the economy in Caracollo, Oruro, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, top, who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce, are confronted by Arce supporters, below, in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
An effigy of former President Evo Morales starts to burn on a road between Caracollo and La Paz, to block Morales supporters who are marching to the capital against the government of President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
An effigy of former President Evo Morales is engulfed in flames on the road between Caracollo and La Paz, the route Morales' supporters are using to march to the capital against the government of President Luis Arce, in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce, walk toward Arce supporters who met them along the route in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales kick a government supporter whose group confronted them in Vila Vila, Bolivia, during their march to the capital, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Morales and his supporters are marching to the capital to protest the government of President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce, advance towards Arce supporters who met them along their route in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, one holding a sling-shot, pursue a government supporter, top right, in Vila Vila, Bolivia, as they march to the capital, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Morales and his supporters are marching to the capital to protest the government of President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales march to the capital to protest against the government of current President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, in Vila Vila, Bolivia Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Former President Evo Morales, center, and his supporters march to the capital to protest against the government of current President Luis Arce, in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce, run towards Arce supporters who met them along the route in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
A government supporter runs through tear gas during clashes with supporters of former President Evo Morales who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, kick a government supporter in Vila Vila, Bolivia, as Morales supporters march to the capital, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Morales and his supporters are marching to the capital to protest the government of President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
An effigy of former President Evo Morales burns on a road in Vila Vila, Bolivia, to block Morales supporters who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Morales, a former coca grower, has retained significant support among poor and Indigenous Bolivians despite his resignation in 2019 amid mass protests over his disrupted re-election.
The march in solidarity with him began peacefully Tuesday morning, but turned violent hours later when hundreds of counterprotesters, armed with tear gas bombs, stones and firecrackers, spread across the highway waiting to confront the nearly 10,000 marchers. Some of them set a giant effigy of Morales on fire.
The Morales supporters, raising multi-colored Indigenous flags and chanting against Bolivia's economic crisis, surged toward them, using slingshots to pelt their adversaries with rocks as police in pickup trucks and on motorbikes looked on. Morales' followers soon forced the counterprotesters to retreat, their shouts — “Evo, Bolivia wants you back!” — drowning out the pro-Arce activists who chanted, “Evo, you traitor, your time has passed.”
A top official in Arce's government, Eduardo Del Castillo, told reporters that 13 people were injured in the scuffles, including three police officers. Associated Press reporters saw some pro-Morales marchers chasing the counterdemonstrators into the rolling Andean highlands on either side of the highway, beating them with sticks, pushing them to the ground and kicking them.
Arce and his ministers accused Morales of trying to orchestrate a coup. Using exaggerated, apocalyptic rhetoric, Del Castillo denounced Morales’ protest as a “death march” and said that the former president seeks “to destroy democracy in Bolivia and end the lives of Bolivians.” He denied that police used force against peaceful protesters, insisting that officers were attacked first.
Morales, for his part, claimed that the government sent plainclothes police officers to stir up trouble and vandalize protesters' vehicles, saying that Arce's government “has lost respect for human rights and laws in the country.”
The mood was largely defiant late Tuesday at a protest encampment in Panduro, in the mining state of Oruro, where the road weary marchers spent the night.
“The government is the one that sent police officers to try to stop us, but we were united and defeated them,” said Yamile Cruz, leader of Frutcas, a group of Indigenous farmers on the edge of the world’s largest salt flat. “This march will not retreat despite the government's intentions.”
Tuesday's mayhem deepened the rift at the top of Bolivia’s governing party, threatening to take the political feud between Morales and Arce into a dramatic new phase. Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous President who oversaw the country's commodities boom from 2006 to 2019, seeks to run against Arce, his former economy minister, in next year's presidential election.
Protesters at the march Tuesday demanded that Morales be allowed on the 2025 electoral ballot despite a ruling by Bolivia’s constitutional court last year that Arce insists disqualifies him. Morales has dismissed the court resolution as politically motivated.
“They not only want to disqualify me, they want to restrict political rights,” Morales told reporters at the march. “Above all, we want the president and his government to heed our demands.”
Cracks in the governing Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, first opened in 2019, when Morales ran for an unconstitutional third term. He won a contested vote plagued by allegations of fraud, setting off mass protests that caused 36 deaths and prompted Morales to resign and flee the country. He returned and launched his political comeback after Arce, his choice candidate at the time, won the 2020 election.
The political rivalry has divided Congress and exacerbated an economic crisis stemming from the depletion of Bolivia’s foreign-exchange reserves. Protesters on Tuesday decried Arce's failure to halt the spiral and recalled Morales' tenure as one of economic growth and social uplift.
“We are suffering from hunger," said Felix Torres, a peasant protester from the highlands. “This is not how you govern.”
Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.
Demonstrators carrying wiphala flags march to the capital from Caracollo, Oruro, Bolivia, led by former President Evo Morales as part of a political dispute with current President Luis Arce and to protest his handling of the economy, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Demonstrators give an offering to Mother Earth before marching to the capital, led by former President Evo Morales, as part of a political dispute with current President Luis Arce and to protest his handling of the economy in Caracollo, Oruro, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, top, who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce, are confronted by Arce supporters, below, in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
An effigy of former President Evo Morales starts to burn on a road between Caracollo and La Paz, to block Morales supporters who are marching to the capital against the government of President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
An effigy of former President Evo Morales is engulfed in flames on the road between Caracollo and La Paz, the route Morales' supporters are using to march to the capital against the government of President Luis Arce, in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce, walk toward Arce supporters who met them along the route in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales kick a government supporter whose group confronted them in Vila Vila, Bolivia, during their march to the capital, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Morales and his supporters are marching to the capital to protest the government of President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce, advance towards Arce supporters who met them along their route in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, one holding a sling-shot, pursue a government supporter, top right, in Vila Vila, Bolivia, as they march to the capital, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Morales and his supporters are marching to the capital to protest the government of President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales march to the capital to protest against the government of current President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, in Vila Vila, Bolivia Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Former President Evo Morales, center, and his supporters march to the capital to protest against the government of current President Luis Arce, in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce, run towards Arce supporters who met them along the route in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
A government supporter runs through tear gas during clashes with supporters of former President Evo Morales who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce in Vila Vila, Bolivia, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Supporters of former President Evo Morales, kick a government supporter in Vila Vila, Bolivia, as Morales supporters march to the capital, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Morales and his supporters are marching to the capital to protest the government of President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
An effigy of former President Evo Morales burns on a road in Vila Vila, Bolivia, to block Morales supporters who are marching to the capital to protest the government of current President Luis Arce in an escalation of a political dispute between the two politicians, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey has looked good in his first week back at practice after being sidelined by Achilles tendinitis and is on track to make his season debut Sunday against Tampa Bay.
McCaffrey returned to practice on Monday and has made it through three days of work on the field without any setbacks, leading coach Kyle Shanahan to say he expects his star back to play.
“He’s been awesome these last two days,” Shanahan told radio station KNBR on Thursday. “You never know (about) a setback or anything, but these two days have been great, and I expect to see him out there.”
McCaffrey has been dealing with Achilles tendinitis since early August. He missed almost all of training camp before returning to practice just before the season opener. He was scratched at the last minute before that game against the New York Jets on Sept. 9 and then had a setback at practice Sept. 12.
He was placed on injured reserve two days later and spent the past seven weeks resting and rehabilitating, including a trip to Germany for treatment.
The 49ers (4-4) are counting on McCaffrey’s return for a second-half boost. San Francisco has sputtered in the first half of the season with the offense scoring 3.9 fewer points per game than last season.
“It’s been awesome,” quarterback Brock Purdy said of getting McCaffrey back. “Just what he brings to the table and really just firing everybody else up around. All of us coming off the bye week and feeling good and fresh and then you get (him) next to you in the backfield, it’s been awesome. Looks great moving around and he’s trending in the right direction. So, we’re excited to see what happens.”
Jordan Mason has done a good job filling in for McCaffrey with 685 yards rushing in eight games, but the Niners have sorely missed the reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year in the red zone and in the passing game.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns as he helped lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
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FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey speaks with the media after NFL football practice in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
FILE - San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) scores a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)