What is happening in Bolivia?

The last weeks have been agitated in the Bolivian political sphere. On the one hand, a temporary right-wing government that has brought drastic changes in its international relations. On the other, former President Evo Morales does not follow politics, which has unleashed criticism from the current government.

Since Evo Morales left Bolivia last November, a new government in charge arrived in the country while elections are taking place and its presence has been full of changes that have not benefited the ex-president, who assured that what had happened was a coup of State.

The current president, Jeanine Áñez, came to power to reestablish international relations with which the country was not in the best position due to its political ideology, such as the United States. In turn, it took a drastic turn in its relationship with countries with which it had better relations before, also for its political line, such as Mexico, Venezuela, China and Russia.

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Following this order, the last movement of the South American country in terms of its international relations was the incorporation into the Lima Group. This group was created in 2017 by several Latin American countries to try to solve the crisis in Venezuela in a peaceful way. Until then, Bolivia had not entered into the political group because of the affinity of Evo Morales with the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia communicates the entry of Bolivia into the Lima Group. Thus, Bolivia will contribute to a peaceful, democratic and constitutional solution to the crisis in Venezuela, which must be guided by the Venezuelan people," said the Foreign Ministry it's a statement.

Although Áñez had already emphasized the need to distance himself from Venezuela, the fact is received internationally as another message of the way Bolivia is following in this new stage. The incorporation of Bolivia into the Lima Group, which does not recognize Maduro as president but Juan Guaidó, instantly aroused criticism from the government of Nicolás Maduro.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maduro, Jorge Arreaza, referred to the Lima Group as a 'cartel' and lashed out at the members through his Twitter account saying that “the supposed and bitter defenders of democracies and rights humans have repressed their peoples wildly and now incorporate into their ranks a fascist, racist dictatorship, the product of a bloody coup d'etat.”

Evo Morales does not stand still

Morales arrived in Argentina after a one-month stay in Mexico, the government of Alberto Fernández recently entered. In his stay he had as one of the conditions to stay away from political campaigns that could harm the refugee status offered by the neighboring country. However, by the same days he arrived in Argentina, his party in Bolivia, MAS, appointed him the campaign manager.

His position as campaign manager begins until now, for on December 29 he called an act with his political party on the border between Bolivia and Argentina. In it, Morales said, they will decide who will be the candidate of the party for the 2020 presidential elections. The Argentine government will accompany me to ensure security and we estimate that some 1,000 leaders will attend”, said Morales.

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Meanwhile, Morales' stay in Argentina has been criticized and highly questioned by different countries, including Bolivia, as has Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS). Meanwhile, the Fernández government in Argentina has not recognized the government of Áñez.

In the midst of the political climate, the Prosecutor's Office of Bolivia has issued an arrest warrant to the ex-president. He is accused of the crimes of "sedition and terrorism" and the order is requested to be "transferred to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor to provide his informative statement," said BBC.

Evo Morales called the order "unfair, illegal and unconstitutional" through his Twitter account.