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'Democracy Is at Risk in Bolivia,' International Network Warns

  • Indigenous women harassed by security forces during the U.S.-backed coup in Bolivia, Nov., 2019.

    Indigenous women harassed by security forces during the U.S.-backed coup in Bolivia, Nov., 2019. | Photo: Twitter/ @DrSuazo915

Published 15 October 2020
Opinion

There is not a single day in which the Añez regime does not call for the use of force against the Socialist leaders, militants, candidates, and their supporters.

The Network of Intellectuals, Artists and Social Movements in Defense of Humanity (REDH), which is an independent organization made up of people living in America and Europe, published on Thursday an open letter to warn about the risks to democracy in Bolivia. Its text is presented below.

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The October 18 elections in Bolivia are going through an extremely difficult and sensitive time. The systematic declarations of threat and hatred made by officials of the coup-born regime led by Jeanine Añez force us to be vigilant.

There is not a single day in which the Interim government's spokesmen do not call, openly or covertly, to the employment of state and paramilitary violence against social movements, the leaders and supporters of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), and its presidential candidate Luis Arce and vice-presidential candidate David Choquehuanca.

Currently, there are few countries in the region where the proximity of the general elections is marked, as in Bolivia, by the threat of the use of force and by the undisguised pressure on the Public Ministry to detain union and political leaders. Even in countries with old internal armed conflicts, truces have been declared for moments like these.

This does not happen in Bolivia where the real power holder, the Interior Minister, has suspiciously engaged in intimidating and threatening to MAS and social movements, especially after his return from a meeting at the State Department and with the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS).

This Minister revealed that he went to the U.S. to buy arms to "defend democracy at any cost" and said that the government will be handed over to any party that wins the elections "except for MAS." These statements constitute a savage ban and a pre-announcement of a new coup attempt in the face of the MAS victory at the polls.

It is also worrying the news from both international and local outlets about the Interim government's plans to unleash violence before, during, and after the elections. By doing so, the coup-born regime seeks to annul the elections, unleash relentless persecution of citizens, and blame the MAS.

The return of democracy is seriously threatened. Any serious event generated by the police, military, or paramilitary forces will be the responsibility of the de facto regime, the OAS, the EU, and mainstream media, which manipulate and hide great abuses that are taking place.

From the Network in Defense of Humanity, we call on the democratic forces across the world and Latin America to monitor the events in Bolivia on a daily basis, denounce the dictatorial intentions of the Interim government, and demand that nothing interrupts Bolivia's return to democracy. This is the aspiration of the vast majority of Bolivian men and women.

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