Monday, November 11, 2019

"It’s called a coup" -- News, Videos, Statements and Developments about Bolivia

This post is being regularly updated as news from Bolivia unfolds. 

On November 10 came the alarming news that the democratically elected government of Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism (MAS) had been overthrown in Bolivia. Despite efforts to portray what happened as a "resignation" when the military demands an elected politician step down, as American politician Ilhan Omar put it "It's called a coup."

Morales and his allies had seen this coming and been warning of it for weeks. It was clear the right wing, imperialist backed opposition was not going to accept any election results that did not deliver them power. With the backing of the United States and its imperialist puppet allies like Canada a smokescreen narrative that the election had "irregularities" was floated to justify a seizure of power as has been done countless times before.

The imperialists are going to attempt to portray this as a victory for "democracy" even though Morales clearly won the most votes in the election, even though he agreed to an OAS audit and even though he then agreed to new elections.

None of this matters. Elections are not what the imperialists want. They just want a compliant regime.

Predictably and shamefully Canada has immediately backed the coup.

For more on this see: Canadian hypocrisy and double standards in South and Central America on full display

As is always the case in situations like this news and developments unfold quickly. Morales appears to be in his stronghold of Chimore and has said "We will come back and we will be millions".

(Update: Morales has left for Mexico where he has been granted asylum. He vows to continue to resist the coup from there.)

(Update: Morales has arrived safely in Mexico)

Here are some statements and news from this very dark moment for the Bolivian people and Bolivian democracy.

It’s called a coup.







"On Saturday, the Senate unanimously approved the "Exceptional and Transitional Regime for General Elections" Law, which was proposed by the MAS to facilitate the resolution of the political crisis.​​​​​​​

According to the this law's provisions, former President Morales will not be allowed to participate as a candidate ​​​​​​​in the upcoming elections."


The barricades blocking the road to Alto Lipari are fashioned from every conceivable object: telegraph poles and tree trunks, wheelie bins and wooden crates, a bed frame and even a shipping container daubed with insults aimed at Bolivia’s “sell-out” police. Their message is unambiguous. “Evo de nuevo” reads a demand written on to the ground at the blockaded entrance to this rural farming community an hour’s drive south of La Paz. “Bring Evo back.”

Funeral procession is repressed by police forces in Bolivia:





"We are troubled by statements from administration officials, including President Trump, that welcome these developments in Bolivia that bear the hallmarks of a military coup d'état,"


"Observers on the ground in Bolivia are calling on the United Nations to take urgent action to prevent the country from descending into a full-blown civil war as the military, with a green light from the right-wing coup regime, continues to repress and massacre supporters of ousted former President Evo Morales."


"Since the Nov. 10 coup against Bolivia's President Evo Morales, 32 anti-coup protesters have been killed, and Bolivian media is spreading misinformation."


"Previously they said they had technical problems. Censorship does not accept euphemisms," TeleSUR multinational network director Patricia Villegas said.

"We will continue to inform and hold strong to our commitment to reporting the truth."


"Bolivian vice president Álvaro García Linera writes that the force behind the coup against Evo Morales was elite revenge — stealing power back from the poor and indigenous Bolivians who benefited most from his presidency."


"Supporters of ousted Bolivian leader Evo Morales marched into the capital La Paz on Thursday carrying coffins of people killed in clashes with the military and police, condemning the coup d'etat and drawing attention to the human cost of the crisis gripping the South American nation."

"Footage of Bolivian security forces attacking a funeral procession in La Paz.

Tens of thousands of people, including children and elderly people, marched to honor the people who were massacred for protesting the military coup regime of Jeanine Añez, but they were met with heavy repression.

If you watch closely you see people actually having to run to get away from the tear gas as they are carrying the coffins of those killed by the regime." - November 21




Bolivia: A funeral procession and march sets out from Senkata, El Alto in honour and mourning over fallen members of the community, massacred in Tuesday’s military operation in the vicinity of the Senkata gas plant which continues to be an area of conflict. At least 8 people were killed. - November 21




“In Moments of Crisis, Behind Every Moderate Liberal, There’s a Fascist” - Jacobin interview with the legitimate Bolivian vice president Álvaro García Linera ousted in the coup 

"Bolivia’s ousted vice president Álvaro García Linera told Jacobin about last Sunday’s coup d’état and the murderous violence now being unleashed against Evo Morales’s supporters."


"An organization created to protect the interests of the United States, funded and supported by its sponsor in Washington, has shown its claws in the planning, organizing, and carrying out the coup in Bolivia. This is the OAS."

"A video of praying Bolivian security forces who defend the right-wing military coup before they went out to beat up, maim and massacre Indigenous protesters. Over 23 protesters have been killed and hundreds wounded since the coup.

In Bolivia today the Bible and the batton go hand in hand." - November 21





“They are killing us like dogs. What is the media telling about this? Nothing." - November 21





"At least eight people were shot dead and another 30 were seriously injured during a joint operation whereby the army and police expelled citizens who were demonstrating near a fuel refinery in Senkata, a highland city located about 25 miles from La Paz."


"In Bolivia, police and military forces killed at least five pro-Morales protesters and injured dozens more Tuesday, in at least the second massacre against Evo Morales’ supporters since the longtime Bolivian president was ousted in what he calls a military coup. Tuesday’s massacre occurred in the town of El Alto, near the capital of La Paz, where protesters had been blocking a major fuel plant for days. Police and military forces deployed helicopters and armored vehicles to the protest site. Witnesses say a military unit then opened fire on protesters, killing at least five young men."


"Former Bolivian President Evo Morales on Wednesday called for an international truth commission to examine the role of the U.S.-dominated Organization of American States in the military coup on November 10 that brought a right-wing anti-indigenous regime to power."


"What is the difference between an outright lie — stating something as a fact while knowing that it is false — and a deliberate material representation that accomplishes the same end? Here is an example that really pushes the boundary between the two, to the point where the distinction practically vanishes.

And the consequences are quite serious; this misrepresentation (or lie) has already played a major role in a military coup in Bolivia last week. This military coup overthrew the government of President Evo Morales before his current term was finished — a term to which nobody disputes that he was democratically elected in 2014."


"At least one person has been killed and eight injured after Bolivian police and military forces used armored vehicles and helicopters to unblock access to a major fuel plant that had been blockaded by supporters of former president Evo Morales."

Scenes from El Alto, Bolivia where Indigenous anti-coup protesters have blocked an oil refinery.

Protesters have organised 24-hour barricades surrounding the refinery which provides fuel for the two major Bolivian cities, La Paz and El Alto. The ongoing blockade has reportedly led to fuel shortages already. - November 19






Bolivia's coup-born government on Monday intensified its attack campaign against the Movement to Socialism (MAS) supporters, who keep protesting in the streets.




"DENUNCIATION DIRECTED TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION

CONSIDERING:

That, the the people of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, are suffering the onset of fascism, of colonialism, and the dictatorship of the self-proclaimed government of Jeanine Añez, which is exercising a brutal repression and assassinations of our Bolivian brothers and sisters that are engaged in mobilizations.

That, the self-declared President Jeanine Añez, who assumed [power] in a transitional role and uniquely to advance general elections, has come to exercise her authority with weapons against the people and [uses] police and military boots to impose mourning on the Bolivian people. During the coup Ms. Añez gave us 24 people assassinated by bullets, more than 600 injured and those unjustly detained.

ACCORDINGLY:

The National Directorate of the Movement for Socialism - Political Instrument of the People for Sovereignty (MAS-IPSP), in accordance with its specific attributions conferred by its Statue and Regulation.

RESOLVES:

(1) We denounce that Ms. Jeanine Añez exercises in a illegal manner an assault on the Presidency of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, supported by the Bolivian police, without completing the necessary quorum in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly or [following] constitutional precepts.

(2) We denounce that the illegitimate President Añez promulgated Supreme Decree No. 4078 that exonerates of all penal responsibility the personnel of the Armed Forces participating in operations for the reestablishment and stability of the internal order, since the Bolivian people believe that it is a supreme right to reclaim their political rights, the right to mobilization, and the right to life.

(3) We call on international human rights organizations to intervene with the self-proclaimed government, so that it stops with the persecution of trade union and political leaders of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) and ceases the direct assassination of brothers and sisters who are peacefully mobilizing.

(4) We denounce that the Minister of Communications Roxana Lizárraga, is exercising the persecution of international journalists covering the peaceful mobilizations, classifying them as subversives, while at the same time we call on the international press to come to Bolivia and cover this political moment, given that the press and national media have become part of the coup and are not covering the massive and peaceful demonstrations exercised by the Bolivian people.

(5) We denounce that, in order to consolidate the coup, the self-proclaimed government has created a special apparatus in the Prosecutor’s Office in order to detain assembly members of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly who belong to the [MAS-IPSP], which goes against all democratic principles, violating the rule of law.

(6) We call on the Armed Forces of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, not to fire upon or assassinate the mobilized people that is peacefully protesting for its political rights and life. At the same time, we call upon them to pull back immediately to their military units in order to avoid further spilling of blood.

(7) We urge the coup-backed Minister of Government Arturo Murillo, to halt with the persecution of trade union and political leaders of social organizations and the [MAS] and to avoid qualifying them as armed groups, subversives, and to stop fabricating unfounded proofs in order to frame the leaders of the mobilizations, as well as Cuban and Venezuelan doctors.

(8) By the high authority that Senators and Deputies hold, they must assist in fulfilling their commitment to the country, respecting the sovereignty of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

Issued in the City of La Paz, Plurinational State of Bolivia, during the 18th day of the month of November in the year 2019.


"The Times, Post and Journal could have exhibited journalistic skepticism about the OAS’s statements on the day of the coup. Instead, they chose to embrace an anti-democratic, racist, US-facilitated and encouraged right-wing coup."


"The Bolivian security forces set up road blocks across Cochabamba today as mass demonstrations are taking place against the brutal attacks carried out against the people last week."

It appears that at least some military members have turned against the coup. - November 18

The resistance against the right-wing military coup in Bolivia is growing. Bolivian soldiers of the infantry division have reportedly abandoned their posts and joined Indigenous anti-coup protesters marching to La Paz.




"As indigenous-led protests against the military coup that ousted Evo Morales continued in the streets of Bolivia over the weekend in the face of violent repression by police forces, the government of self-declared Interim President Jeanine Añez on Sunday announced the creation of a "special apparatus" to arrest elected lawmakers from the majority Movement for Socialism party.

The Bolivian newspaper Los Tiempos reported that government minister Arturo Murillo announced plans Sunday to publish a "list" of leftist lawmakers he said are guilty of "subversion." Last week, Murillo vowed to "go hunting" for Morales' former top minister Juan Ramón Quintana, who has been forced into hiding."





"Mainstream commentators continue to assert that Evo Morales oversaw a fraudulent election in Bolivia that led to his resignation. But the “resignation” was a coup — and there’s still no proof the election was even fraudulent."


"The Bolivian people and the whole world know that we guarantee political stability. They said 'Evo dictatorship', now what Bolivia is living in is what we call a dictatorship."


"The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemned the “disproportionate use” of police-military force in the repression that took place Friday in the city of Cochabamba where nine coca growers died and dozens were injured."



"23 people have died since the coup. The most recent victims are four people shot dead in La Paz​​​​​​ and five in Sacaba," La Paz Ombudsman' Office delegate Teresa Zubieta told teleSUR.

"They have killed our brothers as if they were animals," Zubieta said and explained that Añez's regime is generating "a setback of more than 30 years with respect to the protection of people."


"Bolivia has a new US-backed puppet leader, and the Western media can hardly conceal their adulation."


Bolivian security forces killed as many as five protesters on November 15 near the Huayllani bridge in Sacaba, Cochabamba and gravely injured hundreds. The Indigenous and peasant protesters, who hail from six coca-farmer federations, were attempting to march from the small city of Sacaba to the department’s capital, Cochabamba when they were met with a military and police cordon. As the peaceful march attempted to advance, soldiers and police officers fired at the protesters with tear gas canisters and live bullets.


"Bolivians flood the streets of La Paz to resist the right-wing military coup and demand the resignation of the self-declared 'president'."




"Chanting "resign now" to Bolivia's interim, self-declared president Jeanine Añez, protesters across the Latin American country on Friday made their displeasure with the overthrow of the government by right-wing Christian extremists last Sunday known.

Thousands of demonstrators marched through the cities of La Paz and El Alto. Friday's protests follow days of unrest as the Bolivian people rejected Sunday's coup, which forced democratically-elected President Evo Morales to resign and flee the country."

Huge anti-coup demonstrations in La Paz, November 15

Anti-coup demonstrators in Bolivia have adorned the iconic Che statue in El Alto with the Indigenous Wiphala on November 15!





"In the days following the right-wing coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia on 10 November 2019, the indigenous masses have taken to the streets in their hundreds of thousands to defend their democratically elected president and the gains they have won under his Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) government."

International and American labour unions are uniting against the coup in Bolivia.




"Independent journalists who are covering protests in Bolivia were accused of carrying out "sedition" by Communications Minister Roxana Lizarraga, who was paradoxically appointed by a US-backed government that emerged from a coup d'etat against the socialist President Evo Morales."


"...the Bolivian Parliament, by a majority vote, and with a quorum, elected the new head of the lower house, Sergio Choke. Like Morales, Choke is a representative of the indigenous peoples of Bolivia, who make up the majority of the population."

Courageous actions on the part of MAS deputies: Bolivia: Amid Uncertainty, MAS Lawmaker Is New Senate President, November 14

"The Chamber of the Bolivia Senate swore on Thursday the legislator of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), Monica Eva Copa as its new president, in the midst of the coup d'état that the country is currently undergoing."


"“We want to be a democratic tool of inclusion and unity,” said the 52-year-old religious conservative, sitting at a table bearing a huge open Bible and crucifix.

But the transitional cabinet sworn into office on Wednesday night did not include a single indigenous person, in a country where at least 40% of the population belongs to one of 36 indigenous groups."

Bolivians flood the streets of La Paz as trade unions and social movements called for a nationwide strike against the right-wing military coup, November 14



Resistance is growing!

Thousands upon thousands of Bolivian Indigenous anti-coup protesters marching on La Paz to to resist the right-wing military coup and reject the self-appointed president Jeanine Añez, November 14




At least 12 Bolivians have been killed and more than 530 injured by the violence that escalated in Bolivia following the coup against constitutional president Evo Morales, denounced the Ombudsman's Office.


Canada's position is predictably terrible.

On a hopeful note:

"President-elect Alberto Fernandez of the left wing Frente de Todos coalition congratulated Morales on his "electoral triumph." The incoming administration, which has close ties to Cuba and Venezuela, has denounced events in Bolivia as a "coup" and today offered asylum to Morales, saying he was welcome to come to Argentina as of December 11, when the new government takes office.

The offer suggested that Morales could use Argentina as a base to stage an attempted return to power "as soon as possible," raising the possibility of further conflict between left- and right-wing governments in South America."

NDP's Singh comes out with statement in opposition to the coup

After staying silent for four days NDP leader Jagmeet Singh finally spoke up on the issue:






"Even the Argentine Right admitted that there has been a "coup against democracy" in the Andean country.

Both chambers of the Argentine parliament on Wednesday passed resolutions to condemn the coup d'etat against Bolivia's President Evo Morales."


"A United Nations envoy is traveling to Bolivia to mediate among different political forces and achieve a peaceful solution to the crisis that the coup d'etat against President Evo Morales triggered."


"It´s becoming more and more clear the role of social media as yet another political party able to legitimize or remove any Government, especially through social networks. A few days after the consummated coup against Bolivian President Evo Morales, there have been more than 4500 new Twitter accounts created, without almost any followers, with the hashtag #BoliviaNoHayGolpe installed.


"It would be hard to point to a country whose president has more democratic legitimacy than Evo Morales. Nobody can seriously dispute that he won the first round of the presidential election on October 20 by a landslide. He received 47% of the vote in an election with 88% turnout, as most polls predicted. That doubles the percentage of the eligible vote that US presidents generally receive. I’ll say a bit more about that below, but it’s crucial to note that he was elected to his present term (which does not expire until January) with 61% of the vote in an election with roughly the same turnout."

The bourgeois media has always shown which side it is on.




"The legitimate President of the Senate, Adriana Salvatierra, was violently assaulted by the police as she was trying to enter the Senate on Wednesday in order to comply with the constitutional rule that automatically proclaims the head of the upper chamber the Interim President when the President steps down, after Evo Morales was forced to resign on Sunday."

Bolivians take to the streets to fight the racist coup, November 13




Mass resistance in Bolivia, November 13

Thousands upon thousands of Bolivians flood the streets of El Alto to resist the right-wing military coup and demand the return of their elected leader Evo Morales.




"The interview...offers a feminist, anti-colonial perspective on the coup in Bolivia. Conducted by Claudia Korol, an Argentine feminist writer, the Q&A that follows presents the analysis of Bolivian feminist Adriana Guzman, an Indigenous Aymara activist.


"While social movements and supporters of President Evo Morales demonstrate against the consummated coup d’état in Bolivia, Kaliman said that “the military command of the Armed Forces has ordered joint operations with the police” to prevent blood and mourning in the Bolivian family.

In some of these operations carried out by the military and police in demonstrations in favour of Morales, several civilians have been injured and others killed by bullets, especially in the area of El Alto, very close to La Paz."


When a coup is occurring law and "democracy" are irrelevant.

There is no constitutional basis at all for her self-appointment as President which occurred at a session of the Chamber of Deputies at which there was not quorum.


Images of now-deleted tweets by Ms Anez circulated on Twitter yesterday. In one from 2013, she says: “I dream of a Bolivia free of satanic indigenous rites.

“The city is not for the Indians. They should go to the Altiplano [the Andean plateau] and al Chaco [plains].”

Protests and resistance against the coup November 12 in Bolivia:







Resistance to the coup:



Supporters of President Evo Morales are taking to the streets of major cities in the country to express their support for democracy and for the legitimacy of the president's mandate against right-wing violent unrest.

But now Bolivian security forces and racist right-wing mobs are going door-to-door, rounding up and beating Indigenous people and leftists in impoverished neighbourhoods in La Paz as they try to literally smoke Morales supporters out.








The Grayzone's Anya Parampil debunks Bolivian coup myths on Al Jazeera 



Corbyn knows what side he is on!



Evo won. This is a straight up coup.




Just in case anyone still has any misconceptions about the intentions of the Bolivian "democratic protesters".



"Venezuela will always accompany the people of Bolivia, land of heroic resistance of Tupac Katari; favourite daughter of El Libertador Simón Bolívar, created and founded by Marshal of Ayacucho, Antonio José de Sucre; free and independent homeland of Our America." - Statement of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on the coup in Bolivia

"The Party for Socialism and Liberation strongly condemns the military coup in Bolivia, and extends our solidarity to the Bolivian people who are struggling to defend the massive gains won under the leadership of President Evo Morales in the face of this counter-revolution. U.S. imperialism is clearly the sponsor of the coup and we are outraged at this crime against Bolivian sovereignty and democracy." - PSL statement: We condemn military coup; US hands off Bolivia


"Mesa and Camacho, discriminators and conspirators, will go down in history as racists and coup plotters," Morales said in a tweet early Monday morning. 

"That they assume their responsibility to pacify the country and guarantee the political stability and peaceful coexistence of our people. The world and Bolivian patriots repudiate the coup." - Evo Morales Slams Coup Plotters for Keeping up Violence

"Today the right and the coup plotters seized the Wiphala (our indigenous banner and the dual of the Bolivian nation), and with it, they tore down our dignity as indigenous peoples. We will not kneel, we will defend our constitutional symbols.

Over the coming days, the hunting down of our comrades will continue. Our responsibility is to safeguard one another like a family, to rebuild the social fabric, to care for and protect our persecuted leaders. Today is the moment of solidarity, tomorrow will be the time for reorganization and to the step forward in the struggle that will not end with these sad events.

Our slogan is to resist today to fight again tomorrow. Our actions will defend the achievements of the greatest government in the history of Bolivia.

Our country or Death!!!

The MAS makes history, the right is disgrace!!!" - Statement by the Political Committee of the Movimiento Al Socialismo (Movement for Socialism) of Bolivia

Resistance to the coup!:

As the coup leaders attempt to consolidate power in Bolivia, the 1,000,000-strong, indigenous-majority city of El Alto neighboring the capital La Paz shows signs of resistance. Martín Cúneo, a reporter with El Alto news, reports the following:

Neighborhood meeting in El Alto have declared war on the coup in Bolivia. Powerful organizations in El Alto, located 5 kilometers from La Paz, have called people to “form self-defense committees, blockades, and determined and permanent mobilization” against the coup. This organization was central to the downfall of neoliberal president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada in 2003.


The report from El Alto includes a video of residents blockading streets, chanting, “Rifles, machine-guns, El Alto will not fall!“ - “Rifles, machineguns, El Alto will not fall!” Dual Power in Bolivia?

Mexico Condemns Coup:

"The Mexican government said Monday it recognizes Evo Morales as the "legitimate" president of Bolivia, denouncing that his resignation was due to a "coup" carried out by the army, which it described as a serious setback for the region.

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard also said the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would not recognize a military government in the Andean country.

"What happened yesterday (in Bolivia) we consider a coup ... It is a coup because the army requested the resignation of the president and that violates the constitutional order of that country," said Ebrard at the morning press conference of Lopez Obrador.

"The position that Mexico has defined today is to claim, demand respect for constitutional order and democracy in Bolivia," added the foreign minister who will demand an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) he accused to remain silent after the "military pronouncement and police operations."" - Mexico Condemns Coup in Bolivia, Slams OAS Over Inaction

Communist Party of Canada Statement:

"The Communist Party of Canada condemns the coup d’etat against Bolivian President Evo Morales and the MAS government, and demands that the attacks on Morales and other MAS leaders, by right-wing gangs must stop.   These include an attack on Evo Morales’ home, the fire-bombing of the homes of other MAS Ministers, and holding their relatives hostage in order to force their resignations. This is terror." Read the full statement: COMMUNISTS CONDEMN COUP D’ÉTAT AGAINST BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT EVO MORALES

Morales supporters take to the streets and face violence:

"Residents of the city of El Alto, in the department of La Paz, took to the streets Monday to protest against the coup d'etat that forced the resignation of Evo Morales, however, they were met with violent police repression, in which officers are reportedly using live ammunition and rubber bullets.

"After the first day of the civic-political-police coup, rebellious police use bullets to cause deaths and injuries in El Alto. My solidarity with those innocent victims, among them a girl, and the heroic alter people, defender of democracy," Morales said from his Twitter account Monday." - Major Police Repression Against Evo Morales' Supports, 1 Dead

Bernie Speaks Out:



AOC steps up!



Solidarity with Lula and Evo!



Did lithium play a role?

"The Sunday military coup in Bolivia has put in place a government which appears likely to reverse a decision by just-resigned President Evo Morales to cancel an agreement with a German company for developing lithium deposits in the Latin American country for batteries like those in electric cars." - Bolivian Coup Comes Less Than a Week After Morales Stopped Multinational Firm's Lithium Deal

"Bolivia’s President Evo Morales was overthrown in a military coup on November 10. He is now in Mexico. Before he left office, Morales had been involved in a long project to bring economic and social democracy to his long-exploited country. It is important to recall that Bolivia has suffered a series of coups, often conducted by the military and the oligarchy on behalf of transnational mining companies. Initially, these were tin firms, but tin is no longer the main target in Bolivia. The main target is its massive deposits of lithium, crucial for the electric car." - After Evo, the Lithium Question Looms Large in Bolivia

CPUSA Statement:

"The Communist Party USA joins other communist, leftist and progressive governments and organizations around the world in denouncing the coup d’etat carried out against the government of President Evo Morales of Bolivia yesterday, Sunday November 10.  Moreover, we point out and denounce the role of U.S. imperialism in encouraging and supporting this barbaric act." - Full statement: Communist Party USA denounces coup and persecutions in Bolivia


Argentina's Fernandez Slams US for Morales' Resignation

"Argentine President-elect Alberto Fernández on Tuesday criticized the U.S. stance on Bolivia’s political upheaval, which saw long-standing leftist leader Evo Morales resign under pressure and seek asylum in Mexico."

Massive Mobilization in Buenos Aires Against Coup in Bolivia (November 12)

"Thousands of demonstrators marched Tuesday along the main avenue in Argentina's capital to reach the Bolivian Embassy in Buenos Aires, condemning the coup that Bolivia is going through and offering full support to the legitimate president Evo Morales."

IndustriALL condemns the coup in Bolivia (November 13)

"Since the presidential elections in October, Bolivia's opposition forces have committed numerous acts of violence: they have looted and set fire to homes, humiliated democratically elected government officials, kidnapped and threatened those individuals’ families, set the house of the president's sister alight and stormed Evo Morales' own home. This was all done to force Evo Morales, his Vice President Álvaro García Linera and many other leaders of the president's party, Movement for Socialism (MAS), to resign. These attacks were fuelled by racism and religious fundamentalism, which is extremely concerning, as that goes against the inclusive spirit of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. President Morales is now in exile in Mexico, where he has been granted political asylum." - Read the full statement



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