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Evo Morales Flies to Mexico but Vows to Return to Bolivia ‘With Strength’ Evo Morales Flies to Mexico but Vows to Return to Bolivia ‘With Strength’
(about 3 hours later)
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Evo Morales, the former president of Bolivia who resigned under pressure from street protests and the military, flew to Mexico on Tuesday, but not before recording an audio message promising Bolivians, “I will return soon with strength.”LA PAZ, Bolivia — Evo Morales, the former president of Bolivia who resigned under pressure from street protests and the military, flew to Mexico on Tuesday, but not before recording an audio message promising Bolivians, “I will return soon with strength.”
Mr. Morales, who stepped down on Sunday, left his country deeply polarized and leaderless, and his resignation, along with those of other top officials, touched off a new surge of violence as his supporters took to the streets in protest. Mr. Morales stepped down on Sunday after a disputed election that touched off weeks of protest. His departure, and the resignation of several top officials, left his country polarized and leaderless.
Opposition leaders hope to assemble a quorum of the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday to choose an interim president, but it is unclear whether Mr. Morales’s political party, which holds majorities in both chambers, will allow that to happen. Mr. Morales, who was granted refuge by Mexico “for humanitarian reasons,” has described his ouster as an illegitimate coup. Opposition leaders hoped to assemble a quorum of the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday to formally accept Mr. Morales’s resignation and choose an interim president, but it was unclear whether Mr. Morales’s political party, which holds majorities in both chambers, would allow that to happen.
Mr. Morales left office after weeks of growing unrest over a disputed presidential election and after the military indicated it would support the people in the streets calling for him to step down. Mr. Morales, who was granted refuge by Mexico “for humanitarian reasons,” has described his ouster as a coup.
Hundreds of his supporters took to the streets of central La Paz late on Monday, some of them armed with sticks and chanting “here we go, civil war.” Officials said demonstrators had attacked police officers, and some frightened residents barricaded doorways to homes and stores with old furniture. Jeanine Añez Chavez, a senator who is next in the chain of command to become interim president, said the Legislative Assembly would meet later Tuesday. Attempting to dispel concerns that the assembly would be deadlocked or not reach a quorum to proceed, she said that most supporters of Mr. Morales would attend the session.
The military and the police took up positions throughout La Paz and several other cities Monday night to stop vandalism. “If they don’t, they will have to face the people,” she said in a news conference while surrounded by other lawmakers. “They have a responsibility, along with us, to lead the country.”
A former media executive and leader of a conservative coalition, Ms. Añez said she intended to lead a transition that would focus on selecting an honest electoral commission and holding elections as soon as possible.
“This is simply a transitory moment,” she said. “There is an urgency.”
As looting and violence spread across several cities on Monday, Ms. Añez appeared rattled, sobbing while calling for calm. But by evening, she projected strength, and demanded that the army accept the national police’s call to jointly patrol the streets of La Paz to restore order.
The army quickly responded, sending troops into the streets and setting up defensive positions around vital infrastructure like electricity and waterworks. By Tuesday morning, the streets of La Paz were largely quiet.
Mr. Morales left office after weeks of growing unrest over a disputed presidential election and after the military indicated it would support the people in the streets who were calling for him to step down.
In his audio message, which was released by the Mexican news media and broadcast in Bolivia, Mr. Morales called on the military to “stop the massacre.” Photographed draped in a Mexican flag aboard a Mexican Air Force plane, Mr. Morales also told his supporters: “We’ll work together for Bolivia.”In his audio message, which was released by the Mexican news media and broadcast in Bolivia, Mr. Morales called on the military to “stop the massacre.” Photographed draped in a Mexican flag aboard a Mexican Air Force plane, Mr. Morales also told his supporters: “We’ll work together for Bolivia.”
Early Monday, Mr. Morales urged resistance to attempts to form a temporary government, but by later in the day he had softened his tone, urging Bolivians to resolve their differences with dialogue, not force. During a news conference on Tuesday morning, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, said the Mexican government had encountered numerous difficulties in securing permission to land its plane in Bolivia to retrieve Mr. Morales, and in getting cooperation from other countries in the region to facilitate the plane’s return to Mexico with the former Bolivian president aboard.
Mr. Morales was not able to fly directly to Mexico, after Peru prohibited his plane from flying over its airspace. Instead, the aircraft refueled in Paraguay before taking off for Mexico early Tuesday. Among the obstacles, he said, the government of Peru had forbid the plane from landing on Peruvian territory to refuel during its return trip to Mexico, and Ecuador had blocked passage over its territory, forcing the plane to take a path over the Pacific Ocean and further delaying Mr. Morales’s arrival in Mexico City.
Jeanine Añez Chavez, the Senate’s second vice president, an opposition politician who is the highest remaining elected official in the line of succession, has said she is ready to assume power as interim president. Kirk Semple contributed reporting from Mexico City.