BOLIVIAN far-right coup leader Luis Fernando Camacho is to be released from prison as the Latin American country lurches to the right.

Bolivia’s Supreme Court issued a ruling last week calling on all judges to review the legality of pretrial detention of three key figures in the 2019 military coup that overthrew socialist leader Evo Morales — Mr Camacho, the army-imposed president Jeanine Anez and Marco Antonio Pumari. The sudden announcement is believed to be a reaction to the elections in which a divided left was trounced, with a run-off between two right-wing candidates scheduled for October.

Mr Camacho and Mr Pumari were due to be released today following a Tuesday ruling. Mr Camacho will await trial under house arrest conditions with a work-release arrangement allowing him to exercise his authority as governor of Santa Cruz, a powerhouse of the political right. Ms Anez’s pending trial has been annulled, though she has further hearings before her release.

Long involved in Bolivia’s far-right scene, Mr Camacho formerly led a paramilitary organisation, the Crucenista Youth Union, which identifies as Falangist, a form of fascism of Spanish origin that stresses Catholic identity. He stormed the presidential palace during the 2019 coup, tearing down the Pachamama flag of indigenous Bolivians with the declaration “Bolivia belongs to Christ,” a loaded message in a country where divisions between the wealthier descendants of Spanish colonisers and the indigenous population are politically charged.

Protesters rallied outside the courthouse in La Paz, chanting “Justice to the victims” and “Without justice there is no democracy.” Both Mr Camacho and more directly Ms Anez are accused of responsibility for the shooting dead of 37 protesters against the coup in what have become known as the Senkata and Sacaba massacres, and other violent repression of protests over the course of the coup year.

“Justice must be impartial, whoever must pay, must pay, but justice has to be done,” Gloria Quisbert, a representative of victims’ families, said. The annulment of Ms Anez’s trial caused “new pain” for them, she added.

Freeing jailed right-wing politicians has been a demand of hard-right presidential contender Jorge Quiroga, who has also vowed to pursue charges of statutory rape against Mr Morales which the latter’s supporters say are a politically motivated invention.