RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Former Bolivian President Evo Morales said last night on Twitter that a police officer announced he had a warrant for his arrest. Morales, who resigned yesterday after 13 years in power, classified the action as illegal. Mexico offered him asylum.
“I denounce to the world and to the Bolivian people that a police officer has publicly announced that he has been instructed to execute an illegal arrest warrant against me; likewise, violent groups have burglarized my home. The coup perpetrators are breaking the rule of law,” wrote the former president.
Earlier, María Eugenia Choque Quispe, who presided over Bolivia’s Superior Electoral Court, was arrested after resigning from office.
Following Morales’ resignation, Bolivia was the stage of a number of fire outbreaks, looting and home attacks last night, including the former governor’s own home.
The capital city of La Paz and the cities of El Alto and Cochabamba, among others, have reported several such incidents, and many Bolivians are asking the police and the armed forces for help through social media.
Morales, Vice President Álvaro Linera and Senate and Chamber of Deputies presidents resigned after two weeks of protests and a wave of violence against government allies. The resignations left a power vacuum in Bolivia, as the line of presidential succession is unclear.
The former president was elected for a fourth term on October 20th, but there were allegations of fraud, and the OAS (Organization of American States) pointed out irregularities in the election.
Since then, a wave of protests, with acts of violence against government allies, has taken over the country, which gained the support of police officers in recent days.
The Armed Forces and political opponents had demanded Morales’ resignation. He announced yesterday that new elections would be called, but hours later he decided to resign, supposedly in an attempt to pacify the country.
Source: UOL