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A return to feudalism? The aftermath of Bolivia's coup
This was shared by a conscientious, valuable person and former DU'er at another progressive site:A return to feudalism? The aftermath of Bolivia’s coup
This coup is a disaster, and besides Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, no major North American politician has pushed back against it.
By Derek Royden -November 22, 2019
“We are the indigenous blood of Mother Earth. Until now Bolivia has been ruled by a few families that have all the political and economic power. They despise, humiliate, marginalize and hate the majority of the indigenous population.”Evo Morales
On November 12th, Jeanine Anez, Bolivia’s newly self proclaimed president, made her way to the government palace surrounded by supporters, an enormous leather bound book in her arms. The scene itself was unusual for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that the new president, a far right Christian fundamentalist, was fifth in succession for the presidency.
Anez was elevated because all of those ahead of her were allies of former president Evo Morales and all had resigned, though several changed their minds and claimed that they had been threatened by police, the military or opposition supporters before doing so.
The new president, 52, blonde and dressed in what appeared to be designer clothes, formerly a senator representing the department of Beni in the country’s north-east, held the ridiculously over-sized book aloft, crying, “The bible is returning to the palace!”
Unlike other recent dubious changes in government in nearby Brazil and Argentina, where the judiciary was used to bring rightwing governments to power (and imprison former Brazilian president Lula da Silva to keep him from running again), what happened in Bolivia was closer to what we think of when it comes to the coups of the past in the region. Evo Morales left office at the ‘suggestion’ of the head of the country’s military, a sad reminder of Latin America’s tragic history.
More:
https://www.nationofchange.org/2019/11/22/a-return-to-feudalism-the-aftermath-of-bolivias-coup/