Bolivia: Opposition blockades push for leader's release
Trucks are snarled and people in the Santa Cruz region have to find ways to skirt blockades that opposition leaders set up across the area considered to be Bolivia's economic engine to protest the detention of Gov_ Luis Fernando Camacho late last year on “terrorism charges.”.
Org. of American States boss faces probe over relationship
The Associated Press has learned that the head of the Organization of American States is facing an internal investigation into allegations he carried on an intimate relationship with a staffer that may have violated the organization’s code of ethics.
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US questions legality of Bolivian arrests of ex-officials
The United States said Saturday, March 27, 2021, that it is concerned about increasingly anti-democratic behavior and the politicization of the legal system in Bolivia following the arrests of officials from the countrys former interim government. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)LA PAZ – The United States said Saturday that it is concerned about increasingly ″anti-democratic behavior and the politicization of the legal system” in Bolivia following the arrests of officials from the country’s former interim government. He noted that the European Union, the Bolivian Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as Bolivian and international human rights organizations, had also expressed concerns. AdProsecutors accuse Áñez, who assumed the presidency following Morales’ resignation and exile, of terrorism and sedition for unrest that led to his ouster. Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism won last year’s elections with 55% of the vote under Morales’ chosen candidate Luis Arce, who took the presidency in November.
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Bolivia arrests ex-leader in crackdown on opposition
Bolivia's former interim President Jeanine Anez is escorted into a police station after giving her statement at the prosectors's office, in La Paz, Bolivia, Saturday, March 13, 2021. “This is not justice,” said former President Carlos Mesa, who has finished second to Morales in several elections. Áñez, a legislator who had been several rungs down the ladder of presidential succession, was vaulted into the interim presidency. It won last year's elections with 55% of the vote under Morales' chosen candidate Luis Arce, who took the presidency in November. New Justice Minister Iván Lima said that Áñez, 53, faces charges related to her actions as an opposition senator, not as former president.
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Bolivia's ex-interim leader says authorities seek her arrest
FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2019 file photo, Bolivia's interim President Jeanine Anez speaks during a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia. Anez said on Friday, March 12, 2021, that the new government has issued a warrant for her arrest. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)LA PAZ – Bolivia's former interim president said Friday that authorities are seeking her arrest as they move against officials who backed the ouster of former leader Evo Morales, which his party — now back in power — considers a coup. “The political persecution has begun,” Jeanine Añez, who headed a conservative administration that took power after Morales resigned in November 2019, said on her Twitter account. But Morales' party won election again under his chosen successor, Luis Arce, and the former leader has returned home.
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Legislative election leaves Venezuela in political standoff
(AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)CARACAS – President Nicolás Maduro has cemented formal control over all major institutions of power in Venezuela with authorities reporting Monday that his political alliance easily won a majority in congress. Yet he remains a pariah to much of the world following an election critics called deeply undemocratic. “The results of the election show a discouraged, tired people, the vast majority doing everything possible to survive,” Shifter said. The U.S., Panama, Canada and Germany have repeated their condemnation of the the election by Maduro's government following announcement of the results. "The international community now has to decide whether it wants to live with that or restore the democratic path for Venezuela.
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Evo Morales returns to Bolivia, ending year in exile
Former President Evo Morales waves during a rally with supporters in Villazon, Bolivia, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, after he walked across a border bridge from Argentina. Morales, who fled into exile after resigning last November, returned to his homeland the day after the presidential inauguration of his former finance minister Luis Arce. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)LA PAZ – Former President Evo Morales returned to Bolivia on Monday following an election that returned his socialist party to power a year after he fled the nation amid a wave of protests. Indigenous supporters of Morales greeted him at the border with chants of, “Evo! Meanwhile, newly inaugurated President Arce swore in 16 new cabinet ministers who will help him confront the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a sharp economic contraction.
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Final count gives leftist big victory in Bolivia election
Luis Arce, presidential candidate for the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, speaks during an interview at his campaign headquarters in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, two days after elections. Officials have not released a formal quick count of results from Sundays vote, but the MAS party claimed victory in the presidential election as rival candidates conceded defeat. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)LA PAZ – A final official vote count released Friday gave leftist Luis Arce a smashing victory in Bolivia's presidential election, a vindication for the Movement Toward Socialism party of ousted President Evo Morales, who was barred from running. Last year's presidential election was annulled after protests broke out over alleged fraud by Morales, who had claimed a narrow first-round victory. Morales, who faces a series of charges lodged by the interim administration, was barred from seeking office.
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Morales party claims win as Bolivia seems to shift back left
The leading rival of Morales's handpicked successor, Luis Arce, conceded defeat as did interim President Jeanine Áñez, a bitter foe of Morales. Áñez's government tried to overturn many of Morales' policies and wrench the country away from its leftist alliances. “Arce is not Morales, but the question is, who is going to govern Bolivia facing the approaching crisis," said political science professor Franklin Pareja. He shrugged aside a public vote that had set term limits, and competed in the October 2019 presidential vote, which he claimed to have narrowly won outright. When police and military leaders suggested he leave, Morales resigned and fled the country, along with several key aides.
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A tense Bolivia awaits voting results in redo amid pandemic
Adding to intrigue, publication of two exit polls were withheld after private pollsters said they didn’t trust their own survey results. Bolivians have long been accustomed to quick preliminary results in presidential elections. He was barred from running for the presidency or even the Senate by electoral authorities following his ouster. He shrugged aside a public vote that had set term limits, and competed in the October 2019 presidential vote, which he claimed to have narrowly won outright. She dropped out at as a candidate for Sunday’s presidential election while trailing badly in polls.
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He's not running, but Morales looms large in Bolivia vote
(AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)LA PAZ – Even in exile, Evo Morales looms over Bolivia’s election next month. Morales, a 60-year-old former coca farmer and union leader, faces terrorism and other charges in Bolivia and is not an election candidate this year. Its presidential candidate, Luis Arce, is a former economy minister who oversaw a nationalization program when Morales was president. Morales' detractors fear a MAS election victory could open the way to the former president's return to Bolivia and his political rehabilitation. ___Associated Press writer Carlos Valdez reported this story in La Paz, Bolivia, and AP writer Christopher Torchia reported from Mexico City.
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HRW: Bolivia case against Morales is politically motivated
MAS is the party of former President Evo Morales who was ousted on 10 November 2019, after 21 days of civil protests amid allegations of electoral fraud. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)LA PAZ – Terrorism charges against former Bolivian President Evo Morales appear to be politically motivated and are part of a wider campaign by Bolivia’s interim government to use the justice system against political opponents, Human Rights Watch said Friday. A similar pattern of judicial abuses occurred during the administration of Morales, the group said. Officials in Bolivia’s interim government alleged that Morales, during continuing upheaval after his resignation, gave an instruction in a telephone call that followers should surround cities to prevent food supplies reaching the inhabitants. The interim government denied it was using the justice system against opponents and said Bolivia’s judicial authorities were selected by Morales supporters when he was in power.
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Bolivia calls on ICC to investigate Morales over blockades
After 14 years in power, Morales resigned under pressure from the military and police on Nov. 10 amid widespread protests and disturbances alleging he was attempting to fraudulently claim reelection. Morales was the country's first Indigenous president and remains a powerful influence in the country. In addition, the government is also responsible for the massacre in November's protests and doesn't say anything, lawmaker Sergio Choque said. Prosecutors will weigh whether they have jurisdiction and whether the case is admissible under the court's rules before deciding whether to launch an investigation. The sanctions were immediately denounced by the court, the United Nations and human rights advocates.
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Bolivia's political crisis threatens hospitals and patients
A nurse attends to a newborn baby in the intensive care unit of the Women's Hospital maternity ward in La Paz, Bolivia, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. Bolivia's political and social crisis is coinciding with the continued spread of the new coronavirus across one of Latin America's poorest countries. Bolivia's political crisis adds to the burden on its health care system, which was already grappling with the coronavirus as it continues to spread across one of Latin America's poorest countries. Now, after about 10 days of blockades, supplies are threatened in some hospitals that are also dealing with an escalating number of COVID-19 patients, according to officials. Hospitals filled up with patients, and funeral homes were besieged by grieving relatives looking to bury their dead.
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Bolivia delays presidential election due to pandemic
Police in Bolivias major cities have recovered the bodies of hundreds of suspected victims of the coronavirus from homes, vehicles, and in some instances, the streets. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)LA PAZ Bolivia's highest electoral authority on Thursday delayed presidential elections by more than a month due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal moved the election date from Sep. 6 to Oct. 18, the third time the vote has been delayed. Morales has said vote delays would extend the country's crisis of legitimacy, make it even harder to govern, and would worsen the pandemic. Bolivia has more than 64,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more than 2,300 deaths, a toll that is overwhelming its hospitals and other infrastructure.
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Bolivia's September vote in doubt as virus death toll rises
Bolivia's Institute of Forensic Investigations said that nationally from April 1 through July 19, its workers had recovered 3,016 bodies of people in possible COVID-19 cases. Police said they have recovered 420 bodies from streets, vehicles and homes in the capital of La Paz, and in Bolivias biggest city, Santa Cruz, in the span of five days. Between 80% and 90% of them are believed to have had the virus. Bolivia has reported nearly 2,300 confirmed deaths from COVID-10, although the real number is believed to be higher. Arce has alleged the government of interim President Jeanine ez is using the pandemic as a pretext to extend itself.Six of the eight parties in Bolivias election race have said they favor a postponement.
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In Bolivian city, people buy fake - and toxic - virus cure
According to city officials, ten elders have died in the last two weeks at the care facility after COVID-19 related symptoms. The Health Ministry cannot risk recommending something that doesnt have a scientific basis, said Miguel ngel Delgado, a senior ministry official. However, Bolivias opposition-controlled congress is promoting the use of chlorine dioxide. Many fearful residents in Cochabamba, where opposition support is strong, are giving chlorine dioxide a try. Cochabamba has reported about 440 deaths from COVID-19, or one-quarter of the total number of reported deaths in Bolivia.
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COVID hits dozens of Latin leaders, including presidents
FILE - In this May 25, 2020, file photo, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, wearing a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic, stands among supporters as he leaves his official residence of Alvorada palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Bolsonaro said Tuesday, July 7, he tested positive for COVID-19 after months of downplaying the virus's severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
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COVID hits dozens of Latin leaders, including presidents
Bolsonaro said Tuesday, July 7, he tested positive for COVID-19 after months of downplaying the virus's severity while deaths mounted rapidly inside the country. And in Venezuela, 57-year-old socialist party chief Diosdado Cabello said Thursday on Twitter that he, too, had tested positive, at least temporarily sidelining a larger-than-life figure considered the second-most-powerful person in the country. An Associated Press review of official statements from public officials across Latin America found at least 49 confirmed cases of new coronavirus in leaders ranging from presidents to mayors of large cities, along with dozens, likely hundreds, of officials from smaller cities and towns. Many leaders have used their diagnoses to call on the public to heighten precautions like social distancing and mask wearing. They have to be responsible.Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei placed his entire Cabinet and their staff in quarantine Thursday after one of his ministers tested positive.