On October 20 general elections were held in Bolivia, with a broad participation of the population that peacefully went to the polls, they were accompanied by delegations of international observers. The official computerized results gave a resounding popular victory to Evo Morales. The Movement Towards Socialism , the political instrument for the Sovereignty of Peoples (MAS-IPSP) obtained 47.07% of the votes, 648,180 votes over the second (10.56%). With this MAS obtained an absolute majority in deputies and senators, and they won in 242 municipalities (85%).
In this sense, we celebrate the great victory of the MAS-IPSP, which also constitutes an important victory for the peoples of the Great Homeland and the world. We congratulate President Evo Morales Ayma and Vice President Álvaro García Linera, certain that they will continue to work as they have been in the service of all of Bolivia, leading it together with the social movements along the path of social justice.
On the other hand, we regret that this indisputable victory is not recognized or accepted by the Bolivian opposition, which before the official calculation had concluded, and before it was clear that Morales had enough to consolidate his victory in the first round with the votes of the rural areas, set in motion a coup d’état, mounting at the national and international level, through the matrix of fraud.
In no case has the seditious opposition shown concern for the detail of the electoral results or respect for the legally established electoral procedure. On the contrary, hours before knowing the official results they opted to unleash violence and even announce a de facto possession of a new president, giving the green light for the burning of public buildings and attacks on the people in general in different cities of the country where opposition groups are even impeding the right to free movement.
This flagrant attempt to usurp the political power of indigenous people, peasants, workers, has the objective of stopping and erasing all the achievements made and recognized in recent years by the Bolivian Process of Change, which the people have repeatedly demonstrated they support.
The OAS, which so far has not convened special meetings to deal with serious human rights violations such as those that are taking place in Chile, has convened an emergency session for the Bolivian elections and has issued an insidious communiqué indicating that even if the results of the Bolivian elections were to defeat Evo Morales with more than 10%, a second round should be called, which constitutes a clear violation of international law, ignoring the Bolivian electoral legislation itself and the will of the majority expressed at the polls. Despite this, in an unprecedented gesture, the Bolivian authorities have requested an audit by the OAS, in order to testify to the transparency of the electoral exercise.
Faced with this situation, in which once again some fascist and racist groups in Bolivia and the region want to disrupt a country to prevent free people from deciding their own destiny, we express our firm support for the Bolivian people and President Evo Morales, as well as for democracy, dignity, life and peace with social justice. Finally, we alert the international community and call upon all the peoples of the world to stand against the attempted coup d’état that is taking place in Bolivia.
Executive Secretariat of the Network in Defense Humanity
October 24, 2019