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Evo Morales Flies to Mexico but Vows to Return to Bolivia ‘With Strength’ ‘I Assume the Presidency’: Bolivian Lawmaker Declares Herself Leader
(about 2 hours later)
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Evo Morales, the former president of Bolivia who resigned under pressure from street protests and the military, landed in Mexico on Tuesday, but not before recording an audio message promising Bolivians, “I will return soon with strength.” LA PAZ, Bolivia — More than two days after Bolivia’s president resigned under pressure, the senator who is next in the line of succession stood before the national assembly on Tuesday and said she was seizing control of the country, which had been left rudderless.
Mr. Morales, stepped down on Sunday after a disputed election that touched off weeks of protest by furious Bolivians who accused him of subverting democracy to prolong his presidency. His departure, and the resignation of several top officials, left his country polarized and leaderless. “I assume the presidency immediately and will do everything necessary to pacify the country,” said the senator, Jeanine Añez Chavez.
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. Ms. Añez’s announcement was the latest dramatic turn after President Evo Morales stepped down on Sunday and accepted an asylum offer in Mexico. He arrived there Tuesday morning and defiantly vowed to return, denouncing his ouster as a coup.
Mr. Morales, who was granted refuge by Mexico “for humanitarian reasons,” has described his ouster as a coup. Outside the national assembly, fireworks echoed across La Paz and in other major cities as Bolivians welcomed her announcement, which could herald the end of the political standstill that has gripped the nation. But it was not immediately clear whether Ms. Añez’s declaration would be accepted by Mr. Morales’s supporters in the legislature, the population at large or the military.
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 were planning to attend the session.
“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 tense, but largely quiet.
As Bolivians awaited the naming of an interim president, they remained sharply divided over their political views and hopes for the future. Mr. Morales, first elected more than a decade ago, was the first Indigenous president of Bolivia, where about two-thirds of the population are of Indigenous descent.
In La Paz’s Plaza San Francisco, largely Indigenous street vendors overwhelmingly expressed support for Mr. Morales. Mr. Morales’s abrupt departure came after the armed forces sided with protesters who had accused him of rigging an election to stay in power. But the his resignation vaulted Bolivia into a leaderless power vacuum.
“Evo was the best president we ever had,” said Rosario Siñane, 39, who sold individually wrapped candies. “Now we have no more hope.” Political and legal analysts said the measures taken by the assembly were extraordinary but necessary, because members of Mr. Morales’s party had neglected their constitutional obligations by not showing up for a scheduled session to select a new president.
José Ariel Blanco, the 25-year-old owner of a stationary store two blocks from the legislature, said Mr. Morales was thankful for Mr. Morales’s achievement — chief among them, tackling the racism the Indigenous had suffered for centuries. “Añez, along with congressmen of both chambers, are abiding by their constitutional duties and are taking measures to secure the constitutional succession of power,” said Carlos Aramayo Raña, a Bolivian political scientist.
“My grandmother couldn’t walk into a bank in her Indigenous clothes until Evo became president,” he said. “Now she can and that won’t change.”
A former media executive and leader of a conservative coalition, Ms. Añez said before she declared herself president that she would lead a transition focused on selecting an honest electoral commission and holding elections as soon as possible.
“This is simply a transitory moment,” she said earlier Tuesday. “There is an urgency.”
On Monday, as looting and violence spread across several cities, Ms. Añez at first appeared rattled, sobbing as she called for calm. But by the evening, she was projecting strength, and demanding 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 tense, but largely quiet.
Bolivians remained sharply divided in their political views — and in their hopes for the future.
Mr. Morales, who was first elected in 2006, was the first Indigenous president of Bolivia, where about two-thirds of the population are of Indigenous descent. In the Plaza San Francisco in La Paz, street vendors, most Indigenous, overwhelmingly expressed support for him.
“Evo was the best president we ever had,” said Rosario Siñane, 39, who was selling individually wrapped candies. “Now we have no more hope.”
José Ariel Blanco, the 25-year-old owner of a stationery store two blocks from the legislature, said he was thankful for Mr. Morales’s achievements — chief among them, tackling the racism that the Indigenous had suffered for centuries.
“My grandmother couldn’t walk into a bank in her Indigenous clothes until Evo became president,” he said. “Now she can, and that won’t change.”
But he said Mr. Morales went too far in bending the rules of democracy. “The Venezuelan and Cuban models don’t work over time,” he said.But he said Mr. Morales went too far in bending the rules of democracy. “The Venezuelan and Cuban models don’t work over time,” he said.
Down the street from Mr. Blanco’s store, Victor Huancollo, a 24-year-old computer science university student, stood guard at a makeshift barricade designed to keep supporters of Mr. Morales from approaching the legislature. He was hopeful new elections would be held in a few months, he said, and that “a transparent president who is not corrupt will emerge, not like what we had over the last 14 years.” Down the street from Mr. Blanco’s store, Victor Huancollo, a 24-year-old computer science university student, stood guard at a makeshift barricade intended to keep supporters of Mr. Morales from approaching the legislature. He was hopeful that new elections would be held in a few months, he said, and that “a transparent president who is not corrupt will emerge, not like what we had over the last 14 years.”
On Tuesday morning Mr. Morales was met by Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, at the presidential hangar of Mexico City’s main airport.On Tuesday morning Mr. Morales was met by Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, at the presidential hangar of Mexico City’s main airport.
In comments to the news media, Mr. Morales remained defiant, vowing to continue his involvement in politics and his fight for social justice, Bolivia’s Indigenous populations and the poor.In comments to the news media, Mr. Morales remained defiant, vowing to continue his involvement in politics and his fight for social justice, Bolivia’s Indigenous populations and the poor.
“Our sin is that we are ideologically anti-imperialist, but this coup won’t make me change ideologically,” he said.“Our sin is that we are ideologically anti-imperialist, but this coup won’t make me change ideologically,” he said.
Mr. Morales, who was flanked by Bolivia’s former vice president, Álvaro García Linera, also thanked his hosts, the Mexican government.Mr. Morales, who was flanked by Bolivia’s former vice president, Álvaro García Linera, also thanked his hosts, the Mexican government.
“We are very grateful to the president of Mexico because he saved my life,” he said. “We are very grateful to the president of Mexico, because he saved my life,” he said.
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.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.”
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. At a news conference on Tuesday morning, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister, said his 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.
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. Among the obstacles, he said, the government of Peru had forbidden the plane to land on Peruvian territory to refuel during its return trip, and Ecuador had blocked passage over its territory, forcing the plane to take a path over the Pacific Ocean.
That further delayed Mr. Morales’s arrival in Mexico City.
Kirk Semple contributed reporting from Mexico City.Kirk Semple contributed reporting from Mexico City.