BOLIVIAN CRISIS
Evo Morales was
the first indigenous president. He governed
Bolivia from January 22, 2006 until
November 10, 2019.
He was born on October 26, 1959, 60 years old. The Bolivian constitution
provides that only two continuous presidential terms are allowed, but currently he has had three periods, due to the fact that a new
constitution was approved in 2009 because of the formed constituent assembly, which
drafted a referendum, whose changes had a charter allowing the president a consecutive
re-election, miscounted as the very first of his terms and with a weak and fragmented opposition, in 2014, he won office once more.
.
On October 20th this year, a fourth term of office was mandated and in less
than three weeks, there was a moral step from declaring the winner of the
elections to denounce a coup d'etat and then being forced to call new
elections.
The same night of the elections the problems began, since the supreme electoral
court surprisingly suspended the fast count with 83% scrutinized and with the
possibility of a second round.
The opposition
candidate, Carlos Mesa, denounced that in the elections there had been a blatant
fraud and the audit of the
international organization found physical records with alterations and forged
signatures.
Morales, in a statement to the press, said that he calls for new elections; though, there was violence
in the streets and the police were defeated by the government; as a result, the lack of
police in the streets leaves Evo Morales in a situation of obvious weakness.
Javier Zabaleta told the media in La Paz that the president, as captain general
of the armed forces, gave orders so that the military would not go to the streets. This insurrection of the police was attributed to the precarious
conditions in which they were, in comparison to the privileges of the military; in addition to the refusal to continue repressive actions against the
population that was mobilized in the streets.
With strikes throughout the country, Bolivia became a big battle field between supporters of the president and his detractors. The
protests became strong in the city of La Paz. Miners dropped bombs and the
university students went out to face the police.
The president of
the civic committee of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho demanded the
resignation of the government and the congress. Opponents are no
longer satisfied with the resignation of Morales, but also require that from the senators, deputies,
magistrates of the supreme court of justice and the constitutional court.
All these requirements just to leave the
country in the hands of a board of notables that designate a new supreme
electoral tribunal that could hold new elections within 60 days.
Due to what
happened, Evo Morales announced his
President López Obrador was criticized for having given asylum to Evo Morales, responding
that he understands that there are people who disagree, but he respects the right
to dissent and is proud to head a government where the right to asylum is
guaranteed.
The weary Marcelo Ebrard, Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rules out controversies with Donald Trump after the asylum of Evo Morales: "The good relationship should not be based on submission, but on
respect," he said. "We have had no complaints and we do not expect
them."
It should be
noted that Evo Morales left Bolivia aboard a plane of the Mexican Air Force and
in his Twitter account said he will return to his country, sooner or later.
