Demonstrators in Bolivia have brought the country to a halt as opposition supporters demand that the government deliver a quick election.
According to a report from The Guardian, demonstrators used dynamite to destroy Andean passes. They also dug trenches along rural roads to protest against repeated delays to a rerun of last October’s election.
Evo Morales served as the Bolivia’s first indigenous leader. He also became the country’s longest-serving leader after the constitutional court to abandon presidential term limits. Morales ran for a fourth consecutive term in office in October 2019.
Opposition leaders disputed the results of the election. Subsequently, the organization of American States audit found clear evidence of election fraud. After several weeks of civil unrest, Morales tendered his resignation in a televised address to the nation.
“I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, that the fight does not end here,” he said during his speech. “The poor, the social movements, will continue in this fight for equality and peace.”
“It hurts a lot,” he added.
Morales was replaced by right-wing senator Jeanine Áñez Chávez, who has served as the interim president of Bolivia since November 2019.
The country’s electoral authorities postponed elections initially scheduled for May for the third time — from Sept 6. to Oct 18, citing COVID-19 safety guidelines.
“The definitive date for the election gives better conditions for health protection, outside voting facilities and the arrival of international observer missions,” said Salvador Romero, who heads the country’s electoral court, said in July.
The Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) general secretary Juan Carlos Huarachi threatened an indefinite general strike unless the elections went ahead as planned.
