LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) – The interim conservative president who led Bolivia for a year was arrested on Saturday while officials of the restored left-wing government harassed those involved in the overthrow of socialist leader Evo Morales in 2019, which they consider a coup, and the administration that followed.
Jeanine Áñez was arrested early in the morning in her hometown, Trinidad, and was flown to the capital, La Paz. She had already warned that authorities were looking for her, calling it “abuse and persecution” in the postings of Twitter.
Áñez’s arrest and warrants against several other former officials further aggravated political tensions in a South American country that has already been torn apart by a series of perceived errors suffered by both sides. This includes complaints that Morales had become more authoritarian with almost 13 years in office, that he illegally ran for a fourth re-election and then allegedly defrauded the result, that right-wing forces led violent protests that led security forces to force him to resign and then repressed his followers, who protested the alleged coup.
Dozens of people were killed in a series of demonstrations against and later in favor of Morales.
“This is not justice,” said former President Carlos Mesa, who finished second behind Morales in several elections. “They are trying to decapitate an opposition by creating a false narrative of a coup to distract from fraud.”
Other arrest warrants have been issued for more than a dozen other former employees. Among them are several former ministers, as well as former military leader William Kaliman and the police chief who asked Morales to resign in November 2019, after the country was swept away by protests against the country’s first indigenous president.
After Morales resigned – or was pressured – and flew abroad, many of his main supporters also resigned. Áñez, a legislator who was several steps down the ladder of presidential succession, was promoted to the interim presidency.
Once there, she abruptly shifted Bolivia’s policies to the right and her government tried to prosecute Morales and a number of his supporters for terrorism and sedition charges, alleging electoral fraud and oppression of protests.
But the Morales Movement for Socialism remained popular. He won last year’s elections with 55% of the vote under Morales’ chosen candidate, Luis Arce, who took over the presidency in November. Áñez gave up after falling for the polls.
Two ministers from the Áñez government were also arrested on Friday, including former Justice Minister Álvaro Coimbra, who helped lead the process against Morales’ aides. A former defense minister and others have also been charged.
The new justice minister, Iván Lima, said that Áñez, 53, faces charges related to his actions as an opposition senator, not as a former president.
Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo denied that it was an act of persecution, saying the case arose out of a criminal complaint of conspiracy and sedition brought against her in November, the month in which he left office.
Human Rights Watch director for the Americas, José Miguel Vivanco, said from Washington that the arrest warrants against Áñnez and his ministers “do not contain any evidence that they committed the crime of terrorism”.