President of Bolivia quits
Move comes after the military rejects his offer of a new vote.
Under military pressure, Evo Morales steps down in what he calls a coup.
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivian President Evo Morales announced his resignation Sunday under mounting pressure from the military and the public after his reelection victory triggered weeks of fraud allegations and deadly protests.
The decision came after a day of fast-moving developments, including an offer from Morales to hold a new election. The crisis deepened dramatically when the country’s military chief went on national television to call on him to step down.
“I am sending my resignation letter to the Legislative Assembly of Bolivia,” the 60-year-old socialist leader said, portraying his departure as the culmination of a “coup d’etat.”
He added, “I ask you to stop attacking the brothers and sisters, stop burning and attacking.”
Before Morales had even finished his statement, people began honking their car horns in La Paz and other cities and took to the streets to celebrate, waving Bolivian flags and setting off fireworks.
“This is not Cuba, nor Venezuela. This is Bolivia, and Bolivia is respected!” a crowd in the capital shouted.
Large crowds formed in the main squares in the capital, with many people rejoicing and some crying tears of joy. Protesters lay down in front of the presidential palace and set a coffin on fire to symbolize the death of the Morales government.
“We are celebrating that Bolivia is free,” said one demonstrator near the presidential palace.
It was not immediately clear who would succeed Morales. His vice president also resigned, as did the Senate president, who was next in line.
Morales was the first member of Bolivia’s indigenous population to become president and was in power for 13 years and nine months, the longest span in the country’s history.
But his claim to have won a fourth term last month set off unrest that left three people dead and more than 100 injured in clashes between his supporters and opponents.
Earlier Sunday, the Organization of American States said in a preliminary report that it had found a “heap of observed irregularities” in the Oct. 20 election and that a new vote should be held.
Morales agreed to that. But within hours, the military chief, Gen. Williams Kaliman, made it clear that would not be sufficient.
“After analyzing the situation of internal conflict, we ask the president to resign, allowing peace to be restored and stability to be maintained for the good of our Bolivia,” Kaliman said.
The leadership crisis escalated in the hours leading up to Morales’ resignation. Two government ministers in charge of mines and hydrocarbons, the Chamber of Deputies president and three other pro-government legislators announced their resignations. Some said opposition supporters had threatened their families.
In addition, the head of Bolivia’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Maria Eugenia Choque, stepped down after the release of the OAS findings. The attorney general’s office said it would investigate the tribunal’s judges for possible fraud, and police later said Choque had been detained along with 37 other officials on suspicion of electoral crimes.
Mexico’s foreign secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, criticized the military involvement in the day’s crisis, saying that “we reject it.”
Writing on Twitter, Ebrard said: “Mexico will maintain its position of respect for democracy and institutions. Coup no.”
Jennifer Cyr, an associate professor of political science and Latin American studies at the University of Arizona, also voiced concern about the military commander calling on Morales to resign, calling it “extremely troubling” and “sad.”
The OAS report and Morales’ acceptance of a new election were positive steps that could have calmed Bolivia’s divisions, she said. “Now I am not sure what will happen.”
Morales was first elected in 2006 and went on to preside over a commodities-fed economic boom in South America’s poorest country. But many grew wary of his reluctance to leave power.