Statement by Miriam Amancay COLQUE, indigenous activist and Bartolina Sisa Resistance spokesperson in Britain.
On 15 June 2022, Bolivia’s former self-declared president Jeanine Anez was sentenced to ten years in prison for her part in the November 2019 US-backed coup against socialist President Evo Morales. The former Commander of the Armed Forces, William Kaliman and former Police Commander Vladimir Yuri Calderon were sentenced in absentia for their roles, having fled justice when Morales’ party, Movement Towards Socialism, was returned to power in the 2020 election.
The so-called Coup II trial focused specifically on the unconstitutional actions and decisions taken by Anez, first as a senator and then after she swore herself into office in November 2019. Charges in relation to the many human rights crimes that followed the coup, in particular the Senkata and Sacaba massacres of indigenous protesters, are yet to come. But the trial represents a first step towards seeking justice against those who perpetrated crimes against the Bolivian people under the 11-month coup government.
US backs right-wing coup
In October 2019, right wing forces in Bolivia, backed by the United States, used the country’s presidential election to set the scene for a textbook coup against the socialist leadership of Evo Morales, Right-wing and fascistic elements, particularly from the wealthy province of Santa Cruz had already agreed with US figures including senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio that in the event of Morales victory they would allege fraud and call on their supporters to burn government buildings with a view to establishing a new ‘civic-military’ government.
As the election results came in, fascist mobs were mobilised to rampage through the streets of the country’s main city, La Paz, burning homes and buses. Family members of MAS politicians were attacked, kidnapped and held hostage until the government officials agreed to resign, indigenous people were attacked and racially abused, roadblocks and strikes were held, and government property burnt down. Elements of the police and army – led by William Kaliman – called on Morales to resign, ‘to avoid further bloodshed’. The Organisation of American States colluded in allegations of electoral fraud, which have since been proved bogus.
This was an imperialist coup against socialism and for a grab of Bolivia’s resources, particularly lithium.
An illegal ‘president’
Evidence at the Coup II trial showed how the opposition had already picked Jeanine Anez, a racist, rabidly right-wing, evangelical Christian, to install as president once Morales’ was forced to resign – and indeed to flee the country for fear of his life. This conspiracy was initiated at a meeting in the Catholic University organised by Eugenio Scarpellini, the Bishop of El Alto and the European Union ambassador Leon de la Torre. Diplomatic, political and civic representatives participated including the ambassadors for Brazil and Spain as well as Bolivian opposition party figures such as the country’s former right-wing presidents Jorge Tuto Quiroga and Carlos Mesa. It was revealed in court that Quiroga was secretly controlling the Bolivian Air Force at the time of the coup.
Evidence presented in court showed how constitutional processes were trampled on to ensure the imperialist-backed candidate took power, despite the constitutionally-designed next in line, being the Vice-President, the MAS politician Susana Rivero. The MAS Senate President, Adriana Salvatierra was forced to resign – although she did not do so voluntarily nor in writing, as required by the constitution; the next most senior politician, Victor Borda, President of the Chamber of Deputies, was forced to resign after fascists kidnapped and beat his relatives, set fire to his house, and tortured and threatened to kill his brother.
This cleared the way for Anez to declare herself president on 12 November. Even before that, and with no constitutional basis, she was already assuming presidential powers. She was directing the media, issuing orders and sent the armed forces and police to repress protesters. She assembled a state security team and made free use of the presidential helicopter.
In contrast, the police, military and paramilitaries prohibited the entry of MPs and Senators of the MAS-IPSP to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, and in an empty Chamber, without a quorum and without respecting the Internal Regulations, Anez proceeded first to proclaim herself President of the Senate and then President of Bolivia.
That is how Anez came to power without a constitutional mandate. Until then she had no political standing. Her party only got 4% in the elections. Formerlly a senator for Beni in the northern part of the country, Anez, a lawyer by profession, is a white supremacist known for her racism and hatred of indigenous people. She once said: ‘the Indians do not deserve to be in the cities, they should be in the highlands’. In the general elections held in Bolivia on 18 October 2020, Luis Arce of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) was elected in a landslide victory.
Meanwhile, as a prisoner, Anez enjoys exceptional privileges and VIP treatment. She has her own room, she chooses her own food, has a team of private doctors, visitors and access to the international media, etc. But the opposition continues to attempt to rally reactionaries to her cause. Supported nationally and internationally by right wing and far-right forces, they are attempting to get her conviction overturned.
Despite recommendations by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts to dismantle the paramilitary groups Cochala Resistance Youth and Crucenista Youth Union, this has not happened and they are now regrouping and organising on the streets. Meanwhile reactionary forces in Britain, the European Union and the United States are attempting to undermine the legal process that led to Anez’s conviction, complaining that ‘due process’ was not respected. All of them supported the coup. The UK Embassy in La Paz acted as a ‘strategic partner’ to the coup regime. UK ambassador Jeff Glekin openly welcomed Anez’s illegal assumption of power and supported the new military backed coup government, moving quickly to consolidate British interests in relation to Bolivia’s huge deposits of lithium.
No to imperialist interference in Bolivia
Despite the limitations of the trial, it marks an important step towards justice in Bolivia. It is not enough, but it is a step forward in the fight against impunity and it is our duty to defend this decision. No one should interfere in our legal system. The Plurinational State of Bolivia is a free and democratic country and our sovereignty must be respected. This legal process confirms officially that a coup d’état took place in Bolivia in November 2019.
We reject the meddling in our judicial affairs of UN Rapporteur Diego García-Sayán in relation to Anez’s case. Coup plotters and unconstitutional and self-proclaimed presidents have no right to a ‘trial of privilege’, as he claims.
We repudiate Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s interference when he offers political asylum to Anez. Rather, he should extradite Anez’s former Defence Minister Fernando Lopez Julio, who remains in hiding in Brazil, to face prosecution for crimes against humanity.
We condemn the coup plotters who go unpunished and again seek to destabilise the country, supported by reactionaries at home and abroad, such as Amparo Carvajal, president of the Permanent Human Rights Assembly of Bolivia, who defends the ‘human rights’ of the Anez’s killers, rather than seeking justice for their victims.
All these coup apologists should face prosecution, alongside Luis Almagro of the OAS, who deliberately paved the way for a coup that murdered dozens of our indigenous compatriots, left hundreds more wounded and maimed and oversaw the imprisonment and torture of more than 1,500 men and women.
The verdict in the trial of Jeanine Anez sets an important precedent so that no one dares to seize power violently. We will defend democracy, not dictatorship. We will not rest until justice is done and we will redouble our efforts to demand reparation for all the coup victims and their families, and for peace and liberation of our people. We will win!
For memory, truth and justice! Jail the coup plotters! Justice for the victims!
For FRFI’s coverage of the 2019 coup, see https://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/americas/bolivia/5734-the-lion-has-awoken-indigenous-people-of-bolivia-rise-up-against-imperialist-coup
