RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The former interim president of Bolivia Jeanine Añez completed Sunday three months of imprisonment for the case called “coup d’état”, just on the same day of her birthday in which she asserted that she is a “trophy” of the Bolivian government.
“The MAS (the ruling Movement Towards Socialism) has decided that the trophy of revenge will continue to be detained in prison, and here I am, serving years and 90 days as a political prisoner,” said the former president in a manuscript that was published in her social networks, administered by her relatives.
Áñez’s text, about two pages long, expresses intimate situations such as the estrangement from her family, especially her mother, who on the eve also celebrated her birthday, and another in which she refers to the moment she assumed the presidency of the country, during the political and social crisis at the end of 2019.
THE EXPLANATION OF THE CRISIS
“When in November 2019 I assumed the presidency of Bolivia, I was aware of the need that our homeland had, I assumed with the responsibility to stop the violence, give us back peace and the path together towards reconciliation”, expressed Áñez, 54 years old.
Since mid-March, the former president has been preventively detained in a La Paz jail accused of terrorism, sedition, and conspiracy due to a complaint filed by the former deputy of the ruling MAS party, Lidia Patty.
Her former ministers of Justice and Energy, Álvaro Coímbra and Rodrigo Guzmán, are also under arrest and some former military chiefs.
This accusation is also directed to the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, and his father, José Luis Camacho Parada, against whom Justice has not taken action, and other former collaborators of Áñez who have declared themselves in hiding or have left the country.
The Government expressed that this process against Áñez is focused on acts before the position of President when she was a legislator. For that reason, it derived from an ordinary process and not a trial of responsibilities.
“They will not break my spirit, even if they keep inventing crimes to cover up their own,” wrote Áñez, who also stated that “someday their evil will end and the truth will come to light”.
Precisely, the Government of the Bolivian President, Luis Arce, is oriented to the fact that the 2019 crisis was due to an interruption of the constitutional order and not to the allegations of electoral fraud after the frustrated elections of October of that year.
Given this, Áñez pointed out that this part of her life gives her “pride” and “peace of mind” because she considered that she gave priority to the situation of the country over her own future.
OTHER PROCEEDINGS AGAINST ÁÑEZ
The Bolivian Prosecutor’s Office recently presented several accusatory proposals before the Parliament for a trial of responsibilities for several measures that Añez assumed when she was president.
However, this also depends on the approval of the opposition forces since the ruling MAS does not have the two-thirds needed to authorize the action.
In addition, the transitional administration of the former interim president has been questioned for the purchase of tear gas with an overpricing of US$2.3 million involving two of her former ministers and a coordination operation for the acquisition of anti-riot material with Ecuador.
This week, Áñez testified before the Prosecutor’s Office in the overpricing case and the extension of the accusation against her of terrorism, sedition, and conspiracy.
In these hearings, the former head of state gave details about the process that led to her becoming president, according to local media.