On September 23, during her speech before the 75th United Nations General Assembly, the de facto president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, attacked the progressive government of Argentine president Alberto Fernández, accusing the neighboring nation of exercising “systematic and abusive harassment” against Bolivia. She also accused the Argentine government of “interfering in Bolivia’s internal affairs” and “supporting a violent conspiracy by (former Bolivian president) Evo Morales against Bolivian democracy.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, on behalf of the national government, rejected the statements made by Áñez, against the country in her speech on Wednesday.
In a series of tweets, the foreign ministry regretted that Áñez “insisted on trying to involve the Argentine government, during the electoral campaign, in the internal politics of Bolivia.” “We hope that Mrs. Áñez can focus her energy on holding the free and transparent presidential elections on October 18,” added the ministry in another tweet.
The interim president criticized the government of Argentina for giving political asylum and refuge to Morales, who she called a former dictator and accused him of various crimes.
Áñez, who came into power following the violent civic-military coup against Morales’ democratically elected government of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) in November 2019, forgot that
However, the military and police violence and human rights violations committed in Bolivia after the coup under Áñez’s rule have been the subject of reports prepared by various international organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, among other human rights institutions. The UN has questioned the judicial inaction and impunity in the case of the massacres committed in Sacaba and Senkata, in which several people were killed by the state security forces.
Additionally, several national human rights and social organizations have denounced Áñez’s regime numerous times for committing grave human rights violations, militarizing the territories, overseeing brutal police repression against civilians, as well as racist, patriarchal and selective persecution of political and social leaders and their families, and showing disregard for democracy and media censorship.
