Bolivian Military Coup

On November 10th, the head of the Bolivian military “suggested” that the President of Bolivia resign from presidency. Just minutes later  Morales, the recently resigned president of Bolivia, was on a flight to Cochabamba, where he turned in his resignation. These facts clearly show what happened in Bolivia was a military coup; the first such event in Latin America since the 2009 military coup against the Honduran president Manuel Zelaya. Over the past month, mainstream media has bent over backwards to avoid drawing the conclusion that what has happened in Bolivia was a military coup. The Wall Street Journal celebrated Morales’s ouster as “a democratic breakout”. The Trump administration also voiced their support for Morales's fall by stating that “Morales’s departure preserves democracy,” and argued,“These events send a strong signal to the illegitimate regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail.” The foreign minister of Brazil’s far-right government has simply declared: “There is no coup in Bolivia.” It is not surprising that both conservitive governments and the mainstream media outlets applaud the military for forcing Morales to resign, and dismiss that this event was a coup. The reason for the mass support of Morales’ fall by the media is due to the massive popular demonstrations that confronted Morales in the weeks after the October  20 election. The protesters’ two main reasons for protesting against Morales was because he lost a February 2016 referendum on indefinite presidential re-election. The second reason for the demonstrations are that the October 20th election was fraudulent. Demonstrators thus decided that it is necessary for there to be a re-election process, but a few far-right leaders and various popular movements, including the miners’ union and the Bolivian Workers’ Central, banded together to protest Morale’s resignation. Then on November 10th, the military kindly asked Morales ro resign or be subject to tremendous amounts of violence. Though it was the wish of the people for Morales to be put out of office, the use of military force to do so made this event a military coup.  Since Morales resignation and the military coup, many elected officials of his Mas party have also resigned their posts, claiming that they are doing so for fear of their own and their families’ safety. Then on Tuesday night of that week, the far-right vice-president of Bolivia’s senate swore herself in as president, to a nearly empty legislative chamber.  MAS senators boycotted the proceedings, with at least some saying they did so for fear of their safety.Now with a far-right President, Bolivia is dancing a systematic violation of political and human rights. Since Morales has resigned, State security forces have killed peaceful protesters, the acting president Jeanine Áñez issued a decree exempting armed personal from the prosecution for the use of force, and has forcefully kicked out Morales's party MAS from participating in future elections, despite MAS being one of Bolivia’s largest political force, any politician breaking this law will be detained for “subversion and sedition.” At the same time, Bolivia has seen a rise of anti-indegenious racism. Multiple groups have publicly burned the ingenious Wiphala flag, and a video shows police in  Santa Cruz cutting the Wiphala, the official national symbol under Morales, from their uniforms. To make matters worse, the manner in which Áñez assumed the presidency is deeply concerning for two reasons. Firstly, she wasn’t voted in and had less than 4 percent of the public’s support during the October 20th election. Secondly, once she was sworn into presidency, she appointed new top brass that has no idegenious ministers or MAS politicians. Even though Áñez faces opposition as seen in rising wave of protest, she is still carrying out all of her policies whilst using full force of the police and reconstituted military to take out protesters. Bolivia’s political situation is moving in a terrifying direction that could lead to a full-blown far-right military dictatorship. Currently there are no political parties or protest movements that can  stop the development. However, there are some important developments to keep track of. There is the growing condemnation of Áñez by international human rights organizations and progressive politicians. There have also e been some talks between MAS and sectors of the opposition over the possibility of scheduling new elections. However, the repression against MAS makes it unclear how far these talks will progress. Finally, there is the response of Bolivian social movements, which have been engaged in marches and blockades throughout the country.. Actions by movements may pose a real threat to Áñez’s ability to govern. The state’s ferocious response so far suggests this will be a long, uneven, and deadly struggle.