“I’m resigning so that our brothers don’t continue to be persecuted. I really lament this civilian coup,” said Morales, after his resignation. The core supporters of the country’s Indigenous population have suffered much under the country’s brutal military dictatorship in the past.
While Morales offered to renew elections and pledged not to run for the presidential ticket, his right-wing opponents refused his resolution, forcing him to leave the country.
Extraordinary return
During his exile, he did not call for an armed rebellion against the interim government, allegedly putting his bet on eventual democratic elections.
But he continuously denounced violence against his supporters.
“Stop this massacre of indigenous brothers who ask for peace, democracy and respect of life in the streets,” Morales wrote on Twitter after he left the country.
“In Bolivia, they are killing my brothers and my sisters. This is the kind of thing the old military dictatorships used to do,” he also said during a press conference in Mexico City.
Bolivia is one of Latin America’s poorest countries, trapped in a vicious circle of moving from one military dictatorship to another for decades until the mid-1980s.
But nearly a year later, in an extraordinary, triumphant way, the socialist leader arrived back, travelling across the country from where he entered at the border with Argentina. He was welcomed by thousands.
“We will never forget our president Evo. He identifies our roots. He represents the poor, the peasants, and this story will never be forgotten. He will always be our undisputed leader,” said Justina Choque, who coordinated the welcoming event in Cochabamba, according to the Guardian.
Morales, a native Aymara, has been universally credited with lifting millions of Bolivians out of poverty through his economic policies of prioritising the poor and Indigenous against the country’s rich white-dominated elites.
His former economy minister, Arce, who is now the president-elect, was absent from Morales’s colourful return celebrations, signalling that it was not only the right-wing forces but also some prominent figures in his party, the Movement For Socialism (Mas), were unhappy about the comeback.
Besides the intricate calculations of politics, simple people have appeared to enjoy the moment that marked the return of their Indigenous leader.
“It’s a joy for us that Evo has returned,” said Mark Frauz, one of Morales supporters, who came to participate in the welcoming party in Cochabamba.
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