Economic turmoil in Bolivia fuels distrust in government and its claim of a 'failed coup'

Bolivians have been hit hard by economic turmoil in the small South American nation fueled by a longtime hyper-dependence on, and now shortage of, U.S. dollars. The economic downturn has been exacerbated by an ongoing feud between President Luis Arce and his ally-turned-rival former President Evo Morales in the lead-up to next year’s presidential election. Many Bolivians impacted by the crisis have lost trust in Arce, who denies the country is even in an economic crisis. That deep distrust came to a head last week following a spectacle which the government called a “failed coup d’etat” and opponents called a staged “self-coup” meant to earn the unpopular leader political points in the lead-up to next year's elections.