No to the Coup in Bolivia! U.S. Hands Off!

The resignation of Bolivian President Evo Morales under pressure from the military is nothing less than a coup organized by right-wing forces supported by the United States. A coup seemed likely as police joined mass rightist protests denouncing the Oct. 20 election results that saw Morales elected for a 4th term as president, with 46.8% of the votes. In fact, right-wing oppositionists in Bolivia based in the “Media Luna” region of the country have tried to unseat Morales since the earliest days of his presidency.

Protesting mobs, including supporters of Morales’ main challenger, former president Carlos Mesa, initiated three weeks of violence following the election. Protesters torched and ransacked the homes of Morales and other leaders of Morales’ Movement for Socialism party.

“We resign because I don’t want to see any more families attacked by instruction of Mesa and [Luis Fernando] Camacho [the far-right opposition leader from Santa Cruz, who played a key role in the protests],” Morales said. “This is not a betrayal to social movements. The fight continues.” He added, “Mesa and Camacho have achieved their objective. Now stop burning the houses of my brothers and sisters.”

Before Morales resigned, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seemed to suggest that Morales should not stand for reelection. “In order to restore credibility to the electoral process, all government officials and officials of any political organizations implicated in the flawed Oct. 20 elections should step aside from the electoral process,” Pompeo said.
This coup is a clear attack on the militant working class and peasant farmers of Bolivia. Since the nearly successful socialist revolution in 1952, the militant miners and Indigenous communities have proven to be some of the most capable fighters against the oppression and deprivations of capitalism in Latin America.

The recent coup efforts backed by U.S. imperialism in Honduras, Venezuela, and now Bolivia show the deep limitations of reformist capitalist governments when under imperialist attack. To defeat the coup and secure their future, the working-class and indigenous organizations in Bolivia must mobilize in their hundreds of thousands, following the examples of Chile and Ecuador.

We urge our readers to mobilize against U.S. intervention and in support of the workers’ and Indigenous movements that stand in opposition to the coup, fighting for their democratic rights.

No Reactionary Coup!

U.S. Imperialist Hands Off Bolivia and Latin America!

For historical background, see the just-published Socialist Resistance information bulletin on Bolivia: SR Bolivia Bulletin (1)