US backs ousting of democratically-elected Bolivian president

Until recently, Evo Morales was the president of the Indigenous majority country Bolivia. The Aymara man and former coca farmer was renowned for having redistributed the wealth of his nation to poorer sectors of society, as well as removing dependence on Bretton Woods institutions.

The first Indigenous president of Bolivia since the Spanish invaded the Andean nation in the 16th century, Morales had held the presidential office since 2006. And his Movement for Socialism party was victorious in recent October national elections, taking out 47 percent of the vote.

But, vote rigging rumours began circulating. And in conducting an audit of the vote, the Organisation of the American States (OAS) claimed "irregularities", but produced no evidence of them. And a thorough paper from the Centre for Economic and Policy Research found no issues with the electoral process.

"Pachamama will never return. Today Christ is returning to government."

Right-wing protesters took to the streets en masse calling fraud on the election. Then on 10 November, it was announced Morales resigned, which was parroted by media around the globe, yet no one mentioned that armed military personnel were standing close by demanding his resignation.

Before an almost-empty chamber, Bible-waving conservative senator Jeanine Añez Chávez declared herself interim president of the South American nation on 12 November. Ms Chávez is notorious for having said Indigenous people should stay out of cities, and referring to their beliefs as satanic.

For Indigenous peoples, this is a cruel return to the old days, as the descendants of the invaders regain their lost control. And many peasants who have only had the ability to live above the poverty line of late, have taken to the streets in protest, however some have paid with their lives.

Pretext for an overthrow

"No credible evidence of fraud has been presented. Morales himself asked the OAS to audit the vote and said he would abide by its findings," explained Federico Fuentes, an Argentinian-born Latin America solidarity activist. "Yet, so far, the OAS has only released an interim report."

According to Fuentes, the interim report was critical of how the electronic count operated, but regarding the actual count, it asserted some irregularities existed, but provided no evidence as to how, or if, it affected the final outcome.

The Socialist Alliance member further pointed out that a full recount is no longer possible as right-wing protesters...