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News > Bolivia

Bolivian Indigenous Leader Felipe Quispe 'El Mallku' Died at 78

  • Indigenous leader Felipe Quispe, La Paz, Bolivia.

    Indigenous leader Felipe Quispe, La Paz, Bolivia. | Photo: Twitter/ @dfertl

Published 20 January 2021
Opinion

He led the rebellions that overthrew neoliberalism in La Paz city in 2003. 

Bolivia's Aymara Indigenous leader Felipe Quispe, known as "El Mallku," Tuesday died of a heart attack at age 78, shortly after recovering from COVID-19.

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"With deep sorrow, I received the news of the death of brother El Mallku. His struggle and leadership have been an important contribution to the Indigenous peoples' liberation. Bolivia loses an incomparable leader," former President Evo Morales tweeted.

Quispe, who was running for governor of La Paz in 2021, was a farmer who led the rebellions that overthrew neoliberalism in the Bolivian capital in 2003. 

In 1986, he took part in the Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army (EGTK), a rebel organization that also was formed by ex-Vice President Alvaro Garcia.

Quispe took center stage in the 1990s and 2000s when he served as a lawmaker and formed the Pachakuti Indigenous Movement.

The Aymara leader also played a crucial role in fighting the U.S.-backed coup in November 2019 and the Jeanine Añez's regime that arose afterward.

"We will continue his struggle for the liberation and dignity of the people. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones," President Luis Arce tweeted.

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