The Bolivian people are bravely standing up for democracy against a wannabe dictator, and the world is paying virtually no attention.
[Short thread.]
[Short thread.]
Bolivia has a two-term limit.
Evo Morales has what he can to subvert it by:
* Running for a third term because the "first term doesn't count."
* Calling a referendum to abolish term limits - which he lost.
* Having his loyalists on the Supreme Court annul term limits anyway.
Evo Morales has what he can to subvert it by:
* Running for a third term because the "first term doesn't count."
* Calling a referendum to abolish term limits - which he lost.
* Having his loyalists on the Supreme Court annul term limits anyway.
Morales ran for a fourth term.
To win in the first round, he needed 10% more than his competitor.
Constant updates from the electoral commission showed he was falling short. Then the updates suddenly stopped for 24 hours. When the official results were announced, he had won.
To win in the first round, he needed 10% more than his competitor.
Constant updates from the electoral commission showed he was falling short. Then the updates suddenly stopped for 24 hours. When the official results were announced, he had won.
Protestors throughout the country have been taken to the streets for weeks to protest this evident instance of electoral fraud, which comes at the end of a long series of attacks on democratic institutions.
In response, the regime has opened fire, killing a number of protestors.
In response, the regime has opened fire, killing a number of protestors.
So why are the big newspapers in the west barely writing anything about what's going on in Bolivia?
Is it perhaps because many of them reported on Morales fawningly for years, even as the authoritarian nature of his regime was becoming increasingly obvious?
Is it perhaps because many of them reported on Morales fawningly for years, even as the authoritarian nature of his regime was becoming increasingly obvious?
Please stand with the Bolivian people in their brave fight for democracy.
[The End.]
[The End.]
(Also, please excusde all the typos and omitted words. I'm on a layover after a transatlantic flight, so my brain is fried.)
Wonderful news:
Election monitors from the Organization of American States found that there were "clear manipulations" of the voting results, calling for new elections.
It looks as though Evo Morales has reluctantly agreed to them.
El Pueblo Unido...
bbc.com/news/world-lat…
Election monitors from the Organization of American States found that there were "clear manipulations" of the voting results, calling for new elections.
It looks as though Evo Morales has reluctantly agreed to them.
El Pueblo Unido...
bbc.com/news/world-lat…
