Bolivia calls U.S. pronouncement on Jeanine Áñez “interference”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Last month, the government presided by Luis Arce qualified as “interference” the pronouncement of the Secretary of State of the United States Antony Blinken, in which he called for the release of the former Bolivian interim president Jeanine Áñez and expressed his concern for “indications of anti-democratic behavior” in Bolivia.

The Bolivian Foreign Ministry expressed in a communiqué its concern for Blinken’s statement, considering that “this type of pronouncements is an unfortunate sign of interference in internal affairs.”

“Nor do they contribute to developing a relationship of mutual respect between our States, they do not respond to objective information, and they go precisely against the “institutionally they pretend to defend,” the Bolivian communiqué indicates.

According to the Bolivian Foreign Ministry, Bolivia “recovered democracy” with Arce’s arrival to the Presidency after winning the general elections of 2020, which also restored the “full validity of constitutional rights and guarantees and those defined by the international human rights law.”

The communiqué concludes by reiterating Bolivia’s predisposition to “maintain and strengthen its friendly relations with the entire international community, based on respect for its sovereignty and self-determination.”

The U.S. foreign minister expressed his concern “about the increasing signs of anti-democratic behavior and politicization of the legal system in Bolivia, following the recent arrest and pre-trial detention of former officials of the interim government.”

Without directly mentioning Áñez or her detained former ministers Álvaro Coimbra and Rodrigo Guzmán, the head of the U.S. diplomatic service referred at all times to the “former officials” or former officials of the interim government that emerged after what the current Bolivian Executive describes as the 2019 “coup d’état”.

Blinken considered that the arrests “are not consistent with Bolivia’s democratic ideals” and “discredit the extraordinary efforts” that made last October’s elections a success. He also added that there are doubts about the legality of the arrests because they are “based on unproven accusations, because of the apparent violations of due process in their execution and the deeply politicized nature of the Bolivian government’s oversight work.”

He also assured that his position coincided with that of the European Union, the Bolivian Catholic Church, and human rights organizations “both Bolivian and international.”

Arce’s government has also described as “interference” the pronouncements of the Organization of American States (OAS) and countries such as Brazil and Chile on the former authorities’ legal situation. Áñez and members of her Cabinet are accused of “sedition and terrorism” during the 2019 crisis following the failed elections that resulted in Evo Morales’ resignation as President of Bolivia.

Along with them and two former high-ranking military officers, there are also proceedings against other opposition political leaders and several former military and ex-police officers wanted by Justice.

Source: DW