Former Ecuador leader exposes army's role in Bolivia

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Ecuador's anti-imperialist former President Rafael Correa shared a picture that compared the inaugural ceremony of Bolivia's former like-minded president Evo Morales to self-proclaimed interim president Jeanine Anez, in an effort to say it all about the political situation in the Andean nation.

Correa pointed to the fact that the recently ousted Morales delivered his oath of office to civilian officials -- as per the country's constitution -- while Anez took charge with the backing of military staff, who were present at her inauguration.

In images Correa posted on Twitter on Tuesday, Morales can be seen receiving his presidential sash from then-Vice President Alvaro Garcia, while Anez received hers from the country's chief of staff.

While, in another frame, Morales is alongside Garcia and the Catholic Archbishop, Anez walks with an armed guard in front of a line of saluting soldiers.

Speaking to American political magazine Jacobin over the weekend, Correa said what happened in Bolivia is "clearly a coup", although, some people don't call it so.

"When the police are rioting and the military 'suggest' the president resigns, it’s very clearly a coup d’état. In Brazil or Argentina or China, we’d call this a coup, but some people don’t like to call things by their real names," said the former president of Ecuador, from 2007 to 2017.

"Yes, President Morales did resign. But if someone holds a gun to your head and says very politely, 'give me your wallet,' and you give it to them, does this mean it wasn’t robbery, but agreed by mutual consent?" he asked. "Clearly, what happened in Bolivia was a coup."

Turmoil in Bolivia began in October, when Morales won a fourth term in office, facing immediate resistance from opposition parties that challenged the election results. Protesters took to the streets claiming the ballot was rigged.

After weeks of upheaval, Morales resigned from his position upon the military's suggestion and moved to Mexico, where he was offered political asylum. The conservative Anez, who had been serving as a senator at the time, then proclaimed herself interim president.

However, public demonstrations have yet to subside, with mostly rural and indigenous pro-Morales supporters taking to the streets since Morales left the country in numerous cites including the capital La Paz as well as Sacaba and Cochabamba. Morales's backers insist that the ouster of the elected former president was a coup.