“We began the ceremonies to celebrate the 143rd anniversary of the Defense of Calama, with the transfer of the remains of our hero, Eduardo Abaroa. Our maritime claim is inalienable,” the president wrote on Twitter.

In another tweet, Arce posted images of a wreath at the foot of the monument to Abaroa, and a text in which he pays “tribute to our heroes who, in 1879, defended the Bolivian coast.”

For his part, also on Twitter, former President Evo Morales reaffirmed the claim for sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean, “unjustly taken away during the Chilean invasion in 1879.”

The leader of the ruling Movement Towards Socialism-Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples added that “it is a demand that will live in the hearts of all Bolivians until we fully recover that right. #Bolivia was born with the sea.”

In another tweet, Morales noted that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the country was born with 400 kilometers of coastline and that no bilateral agreement has resolved the issue of usurpation.

Morales recalled that in 2018, the ICJ determined that its ruling in favor of Chile should not be interpreted as something that would prevent engaging in dialogue between the two disputing nations to resolve that problem.

“We are brotherly peoples. We reiterate our sincere, firm and clear vocation for dialogue that will allow us to heal the wounds of the past and build a future of solidarity between Chileans and Bolivians. The request for #MarParaBolivia (SeaForBolivia) is the clamor of sea for the peoples,” the former president concluded.

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