June 17, 2020
In the midst of the collapse of Bolivia’s health system that has not been able to deal with the health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic the de facto government revealed its intentions to remain in power.
Meanwhile, the officials who came to power after the 2019 coup d’état against former president Evo Morales continue their campaign against the Movement to Socialism (MAS), which the polls show as the favorite to win the general elections scheduled for September 6.
De facto President Jeanine Áñez said on Tuesday that she felt it was unfair to be called a procrastinator but then raised the possibility of postponing the elections by about two months, arguing that there was a risk of contagion from the new strain of coronavirus.
“Postponing a month or two months is not going to hurt anyone, in fact, all Bolivians are going to win with it,” said Áñez, who is a presidential candidate and is in third place in the polls.
Áñez uses the argument of the health security of Bolivians to try to stay in power longer, however, citizens, political figures and local media denounce the collapse of the national health system, which has caused deaths in the streets due to not receiving medical care.
Last Tuesday, Bolivia reported 810 new infections of COVID-19 during 24 hours, for a total of 19,883 cases so far in the pandemic, while the number of deaths has reached a total of 659.
Also on Tuesday, MAS, led by former president Evo Morales and whose presidential candidate Luis Arce heads the electoral preferences, accused the de facto government of seeking to exclude MAS from the elections in order to remain in power at any cost.
MAS argued that the complaint filed by the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) for alleged fraud in the October 2019 elections is the beginning of the plan to ban the political party for the elections.
“A new attempt is being made to outlaw our participation in the 2020 general elections,” said the Movement to Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (MAS-IPSP) from its official Twitter account.
Morales also tweeted that the “de facto government has pressured the Bolivian TSE to file a complaint about a non-existent fraud.”
Source: Granma, translation Resumen Latinoamerciano, North America bureau