[News] Evo Morales Warns Coup Attempt Underway in Bolivia

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Evo-Morales-Warns-Coup-Attempt-Underway-in-Bolivia-20191023-0002.html 



  Evo Morales Warns Coup Attempt Underway in Bolivia

Published 23 October 2019
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Bolivia’s leftist President Evo Morales gave a press conference early 
Wednesday morning in which he warned that a right-wing coup attempt is 
being carried out so as to stop the full counting of votes, and annul 
the result of Sunday's elections if it gives Morales a first-round victory.

“A coup is underway, carried out by the right-wing with foreign 
support...what are the methods of this coup attempt? They’re not 
recognizing or waiting for election results, they’re burning down 
electoral courts, they want to proclaim the second-place candidate as 
the winner”, Morales told journalists assembled.

Morales pointed to the fact he is in the first place and reiterated his 
victory. However, he alsostated 
<https://twitter.com/Canal_BoliviaTV/status/1186973992047038465> that 
“we are just waiting for the electoral court to report the results, I'm 
nearly certain that with the vote of the rural areas that we will win in 
the first round, even though the preliminary results show that we’ve 
won, but we are respectful and will wait for the official results from 
the electoral court. I say to the international press, our triumphs have 
always been with the rural vote.”

Morales also thanked the Bolivian people for giving his ‘Movement 
Towards Socialism’ party majority in the legislature, though pointing 
out that his party has so far fallen short of a two-thirds supermajority.

Anti-government right-wing protests turned violent Monday with numerous 
violent attacks took place across the country as preliminary results 
indicated that leftist President Evo Morales is on course for a 
first-round victory. Attacks included the burning down of vote counting 
centers and assaulting Indigenous supporters of Morales.

The first such action was in the city of Sucre, an opposition 
stronghold, where rioters set fire to the regional electoral authority. 
Elsewhere in the country, government buildings were attacked in Tarija, 
Oruro, the campaign headquarters of Morales’ party were vandalized.

In Cochabamba, where Morales is leading the vote, protesters attempted 
to seize control of the Campo Ferial, which is the hall in which the 
votes were being counted.

The president stressed that a key tactic of the right-wing who are 
plotting a coup is to not recognize the Indigenous vote, which largely 
favors Morales.

“I understand the desperation of right, they don’t want to recognize my 
victory, they want to not recognize the Indigenous vote, just like in 
the past...we are all humans, we are all part of the Bolivian family, we 
can have ideological differences, but to sow hate against the Indigenous 
and not recognise their vote is just racism,” he added.

To defeat the coup, Morales echoed the call from social movements of the 
CONALCAM 
<https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bolivian-Social-Movements-Mobilize-To-Defend-Vote-Against-Opposition-Violence-20191022-0003.html> 
who yesterday declared a state of emergency and peaceful mobilization to 
defend democracy from right-wing violence.

-- 
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