Gabriela Zapata, a woman who had a son with Bolivian President Evo Morales, says she will present her child to the media “at a convenient time” to prove he is alive.

President Evo Morales, 56, says he had a two-year relationship with Gabriela Zapata, now 28, from 2005.

He has acknowledged that Gabriela Zapata gave birth to his son in 2007 but alleges she told him the child died shortly after being born.

Gabriela Zapata’s aunt said on February 27 that the boy was alive and in Bolivia.

News of the relationship between Gabriela Zapata and Evo Morales first emerged on February 3 as part of a journalist’s investigation into alleged influence peddling.

Speaking on Bolivian television, journalist Carlos Valverde disclosed that a Chinese engineering company, CAMC, had been given lucrative state contracts.

Gabriela Zapata until recently was a senior manager at the Chinese company.

Carlos Valverde also broke the news of the previously undisclosed relationship between Gabriela Zapata and Evo Morales.

He said the two had had a child together.

Two days later, Evo Morales spoke in public for the first time about the relationship.

“I met Gabriela Zapata Montano in 2005. It is true that she was my partner,” he said.

“In 2007 we had a child, but unfortunately, he died. We had some problems and then we grew distant,” the president added.

Prosecutors opened an investigation into the allegations of influence peddling and on February 26 ordered the arrest of Gabriela Zapata.

She has been charged with money laundering, embezzlement and abuse of influence.

Gabriela Zapata’s aunt, Pilar Guzman, who visited her in detention on February 27 was the first to allege publicly that Evo Morales’s and Gabriela Zapata’s son was still alive.

“The child lives. I held him in my arms when he was four months old,” Gabriela Zapata told reporters on live television.

“The child is called Ernesto Fidel. He’s here [in La Paz] and is between eight and nine years old now,” she said.

A lawyer for Gabriela Zapata later also said that the child was alive and well.

Evo Morales seems to have been taken by surprise by the news.

At first he said that if his son was alive he would like to meet him and “bring him up”.

He also asked a court to order Gabriela Zapata’s family to let him see the child “in private” within five days.

On March 1, senior government ministers said they were “absolutely convinced that sadly, the boy has passed away”.

They did not say what they based their information on.

Pilar Guzman insisted on March 1 that the boy was alive and that her niece would “introduce him before the international media at a convenient time”.

She said Gabriela Zapata insisted on the presence of the media “for security reasons”, although she did not explain what threats she feared.

“At that time, the boy will talk, he is not a small child who doesn’t understand, he is old enough and knows what is happening,” she said.

Evo Morales, who has never married, has two children from previous relationships. He has acknowledged both.

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has announced he wants to meet a son he was told had died nine years ago.

It is the latest twist in a scandal involving Evo Morales’ former girlfriend and the boy’s mother, Gabriela Zapata.

Gabriela Zapata has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation.

A relative of Gabriela Zapata has now revealed that the boy is alive and living in an undisclosed location in Bolivia.

“It may be true, or it may be unfortunate but it is worrying that an alleged aunt claimed that the child is alive,” said President Evo Morales in a statement.

“Nevertheless, now that they say the child is alive, I want to tell you that if he is alive, well firstly it is a great joy for me, it is like a blessing in the end, if he is alive.”

Gabriela Zapata gave birth in 2007 to a child sired by 56-year-old Evo Morales the year after he took office.

Evo Morales said he could not believe that the truth had been hidden from him for so long.

“I ask myself why since 2007 did they hide him from me? For what reasons did they distance me? “

Gabriela Zapata told him at the time that their baby had fallen ill soon after birth and had died.

The opposition has accused Evo Morales of using his influence to grant lucrative government contracts to the Chinese building firm where Gabriela Zapata works.

Evo Morales rejected the accusations and said they were part of a strategy from right-wing forces to undermine his credibility ahead of a referendum last week.

He said a dirty war had been waged against him.

Evo Morales was seeking to change the constitution to allow him to run for a fourth successive term, but the referendum was rejected by 51.3% of voters.

He has been in power since 2006 and his current term runs out in 2020.

Gabriela Zapata has not as yet made any comments on the corruption allegations.

A bachelor, Evo Morales has two children with two other women and has generally succeeded in keeping his private life out of the headlines.