Spoiler: It wasn’t a coup. Morales’s manipulation of the vote-counting in the Presidential election turned people against him. This was his last, of many, attacks on democracy in Bolivia. Since 2006, Morales has concentrated power, placed lackeys in the Constitution court, limited the independence the judiciary, attacked the media and oppressed civil society organisations. But Morales shall have credits for improving the lives of many Bolivians. Since he became president in 2006, extreme poverty has been halved, inequality has decreased and GDP per capita has on average grown by some 3.2% per year. At the same time has life expectancy increased by five years and neonatal mortality decreased by almost 50%.
The reality is not black and white even if one sometimes gets that impression from reading the news. The opponents to Morales are no angels and I would not accept an invitation from the interim president who abuses her interim presidential powers to the extent that security forces’ killings of pro-Morales demonstrators can go unpunished. The security forces’ killings and detentions of Morales supporters are of course unacceptable. If she doesn’t keep her promises of new and fair elections, sanctions should be imposed.
