Mexico asks OAS for new report on Bolivia’s elections

By Sierra Juarez

QUERETARO, Mexico (AA) - Mexico said it is requesting from the Organization of American States (OAS) a new report on the 2019 Bolivian elections.

The regional bloc is made up of nearly all countries in the western hemisphere and the group frequently weighs in on elections.

In November, the OAS released a review that said there were “irregularities” in the elections that gave Evo Morales the presidency.

But earlier this week, a study from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. found no statistical evidence to show election irregularities.

“Our ambassadors have asked the OAS to clarify discrepancies detected by experts from MIT in its opinion on the elections in Bolivia,” Mexican diplomat Efrain Guadarrama tweeted Friday. "This clarification is essential to maintain the credibility of an institution as relevant as the OAS.”

Mexico has been a supportive country behind the socialist, indigenous former president of Bolivia. When Morales was ousted by protesters and his political opponents, Mexico offered him political asylum.

In addition, Mexico has long advocated the OAS to take a more hands-off approach to elections, saying it was important for the organization to respect Bolivia’s election process.

Mexico was not the only country backing Bolivia after the study’s release.

“As I always pointed out, in Bolivia the rule of law was violated with the actions of the armed forces and the opposition … and with the explicit complicity of the OAS, which was called on to ensure the full validity of democracy,” Argentine President Alberto Fernandez tweeted Saturday.