TFA Statement on the US-backed Coup in Bolivia
November 21, 2019
The Task Force on the Americas (TFA) condemns the US-backed military coup against the democratically elected government of Bolivia. We support the efforts of the Bolivian people to restore constitutional order and return President Evo Morales to office. We call on the community of nations to refuse to recognize the coup government and to expel the current coup government of Bolivia from multinational bodies such as the United Nations until democracy is restored.
Morales was the first indigenous president of the largely indigenous county. During the 14-years of his leadership in the Movement Towards Socialism, Bolivia had the highest economic growth rate and the greatest poverty reduction in the Western Hemisphere. Bolivia became a world champion for indigenous and poor people and a leader in the climate justice movement, aligning with the progressive governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
Morales was fairly re-elected president on October 20. Because the US-backed candidate lost, the US called Evo’s election “fraudulent.” A compliant Organization of American States (OAS) disseminated misleading information on the validity of the election. Thus, the stage was set for the coup of November 10, when Evo was forced to “resign” by the military who threatened to kill him and his followers.
Many of the coup leaders were trained at the US School of the Americas and have connections to US police, military, and politicians. The right-wing neighboring governments of Brazil and Argentina have also been implicated in the coup. The self-proclaimed and arguably fascistic coup President Jeanine Añez smeared indigenous communities as “satanic” in tweets that she later deleted. Meanwhile, Morales is in asylum in Mexico and the indigenous and other poor continue to protest in the face of lethal repression.
The TFA urges constituents to ask their Congressmembers to sign on to Representative Hank Johnson’s “dear colleague” letter to US Secretary of State Pompeo, condemning the “Administration’s support for [the Bolivian] military-backed regime and silence on violent repression [which] contributes to spiraling crisis.”
Recommended references: