Is Bolivia's 'interim' president using the pandemic to outstay her welcome?
Source: The Guardian
As locked-down Bolivians looked to the skies this Easter, they were met with an unusual sight. Cassock-wearing priests, some wielding statues of the apostles, sprinkled holy water and blessings over four cities from circling air force helicopters.
The episode encapsulated the uneasy mix of militarism and religious zeal that has defined six months of the caretaker presidency of Jeanine Áñez. A little-known evangelical politician from Bolivia’s tropical lowlands, Áñez was catapulted to power last November with one job: to hold new elections as soon as possible.
The long-running presidency of Evo Morales had transformed the Andean-Amazonian country, bringing many of the indigenous majority out of poverty. But it ended in violent demonstrations, a police mutiny, and pressure from the army to step down amid allegations of electoral fraud.
Morales and other senior figures from his Movement for Socialism (Mas) resigned and fled, and Áñez – as second vice-president of the senate – assumed interim rule pledging to “rebuild democracy”.
Click here to read the full article published by The Guardian on 1 June 2020.
Image by The Guardian
As locked-down Bolivians looked to the skies this Easter, they were met with an unusual sight. Cassock-wearing priests, some wielding statues of the apostles, sprinkled holy water and blessings over four cities from circling air force helicopters.
The episode encapsulated the uneasy mix of militarism and religious zeal that has defined six months of the caretaker presidency of Jeanine Áñez. A little-known evangelical politician from Bolivia’s tropical lowlands, Áñez was catapulted to power last November with one job: to hold new elections as soon as possible.
The long-running presidency of Evo Morales had transformed the Andean-Amazonian country, bringing many of the indigenous majority out of poverty. But it ended in violent demonstrations, a police mutiny, and pressure from the army to step down amid allegations of electoral fraud.
Morales and other senior figures from his Movement for Socialism (Mas) resigned and fled, and Áñez – as second vice-president of the senate – assumed interim rule pledging to “rebuild democracy”.
Click here to read the full article published by The Guardian on 1 June 2020.
Image by The Guardian