11-11-2019, 04:07 PM
** 11-Nov-2019 World View: Bolivia's far-left president Evo Morales resigns
![[Image: AP19315018780328.jpg]](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/11/1862/1048/AP19315018780328.jpg)
Bolivia's far-left President Evo Morales resigned on Sunday after
nearly 14 years in power. The resignation follows a heavily disputed
re-election on October 20, leading to weeks of riots and chaos.
As usual, racism is the dominating factor in Bolivia's society.
Society is split between the descendants of the Spanish invaders,
along with the mestizos, which form a market dominant minority, versus
the indigenous groups, led by the far-left indigenous president Evo
Morales.
Evo Morales has been in power since 2006. The constitution prohibited
him from running for a third term, so in 2016 he ran a national
referendum to authorize his running for a third term. He lost the
referendum, but ran for a third term anyway, and won. In last month's
elections, he was running for a fourth term.
In the meantime, his cronies have been corrupting the voting system
during the last few years. When the election finally took place last
month, the election commission stopped in the middle of counting the
votes, when it appeared that Morales was going to lose. They started
counting votes again the next day, but suddenly Morales was winning.
This triggered weeks of street protests and riots by people demanding
a new election. As the riots continued week after week, the army
generals over the weekend finally turned against Morales, and said
that he should step down.
Morales resigned, or said he would resign, saying that it was
necessary because his supporters were being harassed, persecuted and
threatened. He said he was leaving to help protect families of
political allies, after their homes were burned down. He reportedly
has fled to Cochabamba, a region of Bolivia which is a stronghold of
his indigenous supporters.
Now Morales is calling the situation a coup, and some reports say that
the claim to resign was a ruse. According to reports, he's waiting to
see if the streets get filled with people supporting him.
Politicians in other far-left Latin American countries -- Venezuela,
Nicaragua, Cuba -- are also calling the resignation a coup. Mexico
has offered Morales asylum.
Along with Morales, the next two successors, vice-President Alvaro
García and Senate President Adriana Salvatierra, also resigned,
leaving a power vacuum in Bolivia. There are fears of more riots and
violence and that the army may step in to maintain order.
--- Source:
-- Bolivian President Evo Morales resigns amid election protests
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50370013
(BBC, 11-Nov-2019)
-- Bolivia ex-president Evo Morales on the run as supporters clash
with police, barricade roads
https://www.foxnews.com/world/bolivia-pr...supporters
(Fox News, 11-Nov-2019)
- Bolivia's far-left president Evo Morales
announced his resignation on national television on Sunday (AP)
Bolivia's far-left President Evo Morales resigned on Sunday after
nearly 14 years in power. The resignation follows a heavily disputed
re-election on October 20, leading to weeks of riots and chaos.
As usual, racism is the dominating factor in Bolivia's society.
Society is split between the descendants of the Spanish invaders,
along with the mestizos, which form a market dominant minority, versus
the indigenous groups, led by the far-left indigenous president Evo
Morales.
Evo Morales has been in power since 2006. The constitution prohibited
him from running for a third term, so in 2016 he ran a national
referendum to authorize his running for a third term. He lost the
referendum, but ran for a third term anyway, and won. In last month's
elections, he was running for a fourth term.
In the meantime, his cronies have been corrupting the voting system
during the last few years. When the election finally took place last
month, the election commission stopped in the middle of counting the
votes, when it appeared that Morales was going to lose. They started
counting votes again the next day, but suddenly Morales was winning.
This triggered weeks of street protests and riots by people demanding
a new election. As the riots continued week after week, the army
generals over the weekend finally turned against Morales, and said
that he should step down.
Morales resigned, or said he would resign, saying that it was
necessary because his supporters were being harassed, persecuted and
threatened. He said he was leaving to help protect families of
political allies, after their homes were burned down. He reportedly
has fled to Cochabamba, a region of Bolivia which is a stronghold of
his indigenous supporters.
Now Morales is calling the situation a coup, and some reports say that
the claim to resign was a ruse. According to reports, he's waiting to
see if the streets get filled with people supporting him.
Politicians in other far-left Latin American countries -- Venezuela,
Nicaragua, Cuba -- are also calling the resignation a coup. Mexico
has offered Morales asylum.
Along with Morales, the next two successors, vice-President Alvaro
García and Senate President Adriana Salvatierra, also resigned,
leaving a power vacuum in Bolivia. There are fears of more riots and
violence and that the army may step in to maintain order.
--- Source:
-- Bolivian President Evo Morales resigns amid election protests
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50370013
(BBC, 11-Nov-2019)
-- Bolivia ex-president Evo Morales on the run as supporters clash
with police, barricade roads
https://www.foxnews.com/world/bolivia-pr...supporters
(Fox News, 11-Nov-2019)
