translated from Spanish: Uruguay denounces a “coup d’état” in Bolivia and urges to restore “immediately” the rule of law

The Government of Tabaré Vázquez in Uruguay on Monday denounced what it considers a “coup d’état” in Bolivia by the resignation of Evo Morales after the Police and Armed Forces suggested it, while urging to restore “imm ediato” the rule of law in the Andean nation.” The Government of Uruguay expresses its dismay at the breaking of the rule of law in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, which forced the exit of power from the president, Evo Morales, and plunged the country into chaos and violence,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. For Uruguay, “there is no argument that can justify these acts, in particular having announced a few hours earlier President Morales’ intention to call new elections, based on the report produced by the electoral mission of the Organization of States (OAS)”. Thus, it has called on “all Bolivian actors to cease acts of violence and for the electoral process to be led in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the laws of the Plurinational State of Bolivia”. In addition, it called for the restoration “immediately” of the rule of law, “fully respecting the human and civil rights of all inhabitants and, in particular, the inviolability of foreign diplomatic representations and their officials”. Uruguay joins countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Argentina and Mexico in the region, as well as Russia, beyond Latin America, which have also denounced a “coup d’état” against the indigenous leader. At the other extreme, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has lamented escalating tensions in Bolivia but questioned this term. “The word hits the left a lot when it loses,” he said. For its part, the United States has asked all parties to adhere to the constitutional framework during the “transition.” “We will continue to work with our international partners to ensure that Bolivia’s democracy and constitutional order continue,” a spokesman for the Department of Estado.La High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, Federica Mogherini, has called on “containment and responsibility” from all parties in Bolivia to allow the country to move “peacefully and calmly” to the holding of new “credible” elections. In Spain, the acting government of Pedro Sánchez has regretted that the electoral process announced in Bolivia by Morales has been “distorted” by the “intervention” of the Armed Forces and the Police and urged to resolve the current “vacuum” of power.

Original source in Spanish