Former Bolivian interim President Jeanine Áñez handwrote a letter saying she was being tortured and abused while under arrest. “My first words to the Bolivian people from the prison of the dictatorship,” (of President Luis Arce) she said in a message that was widely spread through social media on Tuesday.
Bolivia's former interim President Jeanine Añez landed behind bars in La Paz after the new government arrested her on claims she participated in a 2019 coup to seize power. Supporters warned her arrest could lead to civil unrest in certain areas of Bolivia and argued there was no legality in the arrest and charges, but rather a political vendetta.
Argentina pledged on Thursday to manage Bolivia's entry into Mercosur, after both countries relaunched their trade relationship during the official visit of the Argentine Foreign Minister, Felipe Solá, who sees the need to approve the full entry of the Andean country at the next Mercosur summit to be held on March 26.
Argentina is holding the pro tempore rotating chair of Mercosur during the next six months and three are its main objectives during that period according to foreign ministry sources in Buenos Aires. They include Bolivia, the Falklands/Malvinas claim and trade accords and negotiations with other countries.
Bolivia's new president, Luis Arce, has moved swiftly to restore ties with Iran and Venezuela, receiving the credentials of ambassadors from the two countries on Wednesday, just three days after his socialist party retook the reins of power.
Luis Arce was sworn in as Bolivia’s new president on Sunday, bringing to a close a turbulent period characterized by political and social turmoil after former president Evo Morales left the government in November following a disputed election.
Bolivians celebrated the Day of Skulls over the weekend, a colorful tradition rooted in ancient indigenous beliefs that is meant to bring good fortune and protection by honoring the dead.
Luis Arce, a quiet economist who will be sworn in as Bolivia's president on Sunday after a landslide election win, knew where he stood in the political spectrum as a young teenager in La Paz, when he picked up the writings of philosopher Karl Marx.
Conservative opponents of Bolivia's center-left president-elect Luis Arce have announced a two-day strike from Thursday protesting alleged electoral fraud. The strike is taking place across the eastern department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia's economic hub as well as home to its biggest city.
Bolivia's Congress, controlled by the socialist party of the former indigenous President Evo Morales, approved on Thursday night a report that recommends a lawsuit against outgoing right-wing President Jeanine Añez for genocide and other alleged crimes.