Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro infuriated the Bolivian government by offering asylum to Jeanine Áñez last Sunday (26). The former head of state was sentenced to ten years in prison earlier this month for irregularly assuming the presidency of Bolivia following the resignation of Evo Morales in 2019.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro infuriated the Bolivian government by offering asylum to Jeanine Áñez last Sunday (26). The former head of state was sentenced to ten years in prison earlier this month for irregularly assuming the presidency of Bolivia following the resignation of Evo Morales in 2019.
Marcio Resende, correspondent RFI in Buenos Aires
Áñez has been held in a women’s prison in La Paz since March 2021. The former Bolivian president thanked Bolsonaro on Tuesday (28) via social networks run by his relatives. On Twitter, she stressed that she was “innocent” and “did not and will not leave the country”.
The former head of state also reiterated that he “did not know Bolsonaro personally”, although the Brazilian president assured him that he would meet with him. “I’ve only been with her once. First of all, I thought she was a very nice person, a woman,” she said.
This counterpoint was used by the Bolivian government to conclude that the November 2019 resignation of then-President Evo Morales was a “coup” designed with the complicity of foreign agents. According to Evo Morales’ allies, Brazil, Ecuador, the European Union and the United States were involved in this so-called international conspiracy.
“We share the UN’s concerns over the judicial process of Jeanine Áñez,” said Brian Nichols, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, on Tuesday, referring to the United Nations’ questions about the independence of the Bolivian Justice.
Bolivia accuses Bolsonaro of meddling
Bolsonaro’s plan to grant Áñez asylum was “absolutely impudent”, the Bolivian government said on Tuesday. Government lawmakers add that the idea does not meet international requirements and reinforces the accusation that the Brazilian president was complicit in the “coup” that brought Áñez to power in November 2019.
Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta described Bolsonaro’s proposal as “inappropriate interference in internal affairs”. “We regret the unfortunate statements by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro that are absolutely arrogant, constitute an inappropriate interference in internal affairs, do not respect the forms of relations between States and do not coincide with relations of good neighborliness and mutual respect. Between Brazil and Bolivia”, the prime minister specifically spoke to address the issue. described at a press conference.
In an interview with the online program “4 x 4” on Sunday, 26, Bolsonaro said last June “to fail to fulfill his duties and make decisions against the Constitution and the law”, in a process known as the “Second Coup.”
“Brazil is putting the issue of international relations, human rights, into practice to see if it brings Jeanine Áñez and she is sheltering here in Brazil. It is unfair to a woman imprisoned in Bolivia,” Bolsonaro said. Everything is possible. You are wrong. imprisoned,” concluded the Brazilian president.
“Ms Áñez is being investigated and criminally prosecuted in our country, as there are sufficient indications that she has committed many human rights violations and crimes against humanity,” the Bolivian foreign minister said, referring to another process. State Coup I”, in which Jeanine Áñez was accused of insurrection, terrorism, armed insurrection and genocide.
diplomatic complaint
Rogelio Mayta also stated that the Bolivian government will initiate a process against Brazil. “We have already worked on this complaint. We will comply with the rules of international relations, and in this case, the right thing is to file a diplomatic complaint,” said the minister.
On the side of government lawmakers, Freddy Mamani, speaker of the House of Representatives, commented that “Bolsonaro’s proposal confirms his complicity in the 2019 coup.” “We are slowly seeing how the whole plan for the coup became visible. We knew that this coup was not only from within, but also from outside,” Mamani accused.
Senator Luis Adolfo Flores de described Bolsonaro’s proposal as “open interference in the decisions of Bolivia’s independent bodies”. According to him, the Brazilian president is violating international rules to grant asylum. Flores, “An asylum seeker is someone who has not yet been processed.” Said.
Regional leaders questioned
Bolsonaro explained that his plan to grant asylum to former President Áñez is dependent on “whether the Bolivian government will accept it,” and that he had already discussed the issue with some Latin American leaders during the Summit of the Americas earlier this month. With reference to Argentine President Alberto Fernández, an ally of the current Bolivian government.
Bolsonaro stated that Lula was “hypocritical” for failing to condemn the sentence of Jeanine Áñez, and that the concern for human rights was ideologically biased. “The old president [Evo Morales] and current [Luis Arce] He says absolutely nothing about Lula’s friends and this case,” Bolsonaro said.
Jeanine Áñez’s rise to power
Jeanine Áñez, then senator, assumed the presidency of Bolivia on November 12, 2019, following the resignation of Evo Morales, who was accused of cheating in the elections that month, amid the country’s social turmoil.
Evo Morales did not condemn a “coup” after leaving office, and his party’s vice-president, Senate chairman and Speaker of the House of Representatives all also resigned. Jeanine Áñez was next in this line and her ownership was confirmed by the Supreme Court. She recognized the legitimacy of Brazil she.
As interim president, Jeanine Áñez remained in power for a year until Evo Morales’ candidate, Luis Arce, won the election. In March 2021, the former senator was preemptively arrested until his conviction on June 10.
The former commanders of the Armed Forces and the police, who were fugitives, were also sentenced. “If they’re in Brazil, they won’t leave,” Bolsonaro warned, prolonging his offer of asylum.
source: Noticias
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