Bolivia yesterday faced its worst unrest in decades amid a political vacuum, while former Bolivian president Evo Morales, who transformed the nation as its first indigenous president, fled the country following weeks of violent protests.
Morales flew out on a Mexican government airplane late on Monday, hours after being granted asylum as his supporters and foes fought on the streets of the capital while an opposition leader tearfully laid out a possible path toward new elections in the wake of the president’s resignation.
Morales stepped down on Sunday following weeks of widespread protests fed by allegations of electoral fraud in the Oct. 20 presidential election that he claimed to have won. Resignations by every other constitutionally designated successor left unclear who would take his place and how.
His flight from the country was a dramatic fall for the llama shepherd from the Bolivian highlands and former coca growers’ union leader who as president helped lift millions out poverty, increased social rights and presided over nearly 14 years of stability and high economic growth in South America’s poorest country.
However, in the end, his downfall was marked by his insistence on holding on to power.
“It pains me to leave the country for political reasons, but I’ll always be concerned,” Morales said on Twitter. “I’ll return soon, with more strength and energy.”
Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard published a photograph of Morales holding the flag of Mexico, saying that the airplane had left Bolivia and that Morales was safe.
In an earlier tweet, Morales posted a photograph of his first night after he resigned showing him lying on a floor with an improvised blanket as a bed.
He said that he had been forced into such conditions after what he has called a coup by the opposition.
Angry supporters of the socialist leader on Monday set barricades ablaze to close some roads leading to the country’s main airport, while his foes blocked most of the streets leading to La Paz’s main square in front of the Bolivian Plurinational Legislative Assembly and the presidential palace.
Police urged La Paz residents to stay in their homes and authorities said that the army would join in policing efforts to avoid an escalation of violence.
The Bolivian Senate’s second vice president, opposition politician Jeanine Anez, said in an emotional address that she would take temporary control of the chamber, although it was unclear if she would be able to get approval from the legislature, which is controlled by Morales supporters.
She would become next in line for the presidency if chosen to head the Senate.
“Please excuse me if my voice breaks,” Anez said between tears after arriving at the legislature under heavy guard. “It’s so hard to see Bolivians clashing, no matter which side they’re on. They are being mistreated, and I’m asking you to cease the violence.”
Anez said that she would convene a legislative session yesterday to consider accepting the formal resignation of Morales.
However, it was unclear if lawmakers could meet that soon because of insecurity in La Paz.
As tensions grew, local media reported that Morales supporters were marching on La Paz from the nearby city of El Alto, a Morales stronghold, to try to break the street blockades thrown up by his opponents and reach La Paz’s main square.
Former Bolivian president Carlos Mesa, who finished second in the election, said that Morales was brought down by a popular uprising, not the military, noting that troops did not take to the streets during the unrest.
“Academics and the press have been very critical of the Bolivian military, but this might be the only time in Bolivian military history that the military is on the right side for once,” said Eduardo Gamarra, a Bolivian political scientist at Florida International University.
“There’s nothing here that remotely mirrors a traditional military coup,” Gamarra said. “Perhaps this is a time that the military is playing a role that it should play. It’s not intervening in what are essentially civilian affairs.”
Michael Shifter, head of the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue, warned that Bolivia’s polarization needs to healed by new leadership.
“The temptation for any vengeance against Morales supporters needs to be resisted,” Shifter said. “That would be a recipe for continued conflict and chaos that could well put at risk some of the country’s undeniable socioeconomic gains over the past decade.”
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