The pair resigned on Sunday after senior army and police chiefs called on Morales to do so following weeks of unrest and violence in the wake of his October 20 election victory, fleeing the country to Mexico after personal threats from the nation's military, police forces and violent right-wing protesters and a series of violent attacks on his supporters and their homes.
“The ITF today joins the rest of the international trade union community in denouncing the military coup that has overthrown a democratically elected government and forced Bolivia’s president and vice president to seek political asylum in Mexico,” said ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton.
Contrary to the post-election statements by the Organization of American States (OAS) Electoral Observation Mission, and subsequent statement by President Trump, statistical analysis by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) has found no evidence that irregularities or fraud affected the official election result.
Today ITF president Paddy Crumlin echoed the words of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA).
“Bolivia’s political crisis is a reminder of the times of coups, political violence and punishing the sovereign decision of the people, things that we have all worked hard to put behind us. So we stand in solidarity with the people of Bolivia and demand that the Bolivian people are given their democratic right to vote in a free, transparent and unrestricted election to choose their leaders,” Crumlin said.
The ITF, and our affiliated unions internationally, call for peace, justice and an end to violence that threatens the stability and democracy in Bolivia, and respect President Morales’ insistence for new elections to let the Bolivian people determine their future leaders.
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