With God on their side, the People of Bolivia Said NO!
They meant it and conquered what seemed an unattainable undertaking.
Without weapons but a BIBLE in their hands, PRAYERS in their hearts, and sheer determination, Bolivians and their rising heroes took to the streets to stand up for Democracy and the rule of law and ousted Evo Morales, a Dictator in the making, in the recent 2019 elections.
The voices of rebellion against this once revered indigenous leader begun years before when in 2009, he changed the Bolivian Constitution, which imposed a two-term limit from the previous one-term limit for Bolivian Presidents.
Arguing the New Constitution…he convenient called for early elections claiming that such would be considered his first term under the “New Constitution.” This allowed him to run again for “a second-term” in 2016. Astoundingly, the Bolivian Constitutional Court, made up mostly of his loyalists, ruled in his favor. Evo won both elections by a large margin under suspicions of fraud and against a very divided opposition.
Bolivians had no choice but to look hopeful towards the 2019 elections to have the opportunity to elect a president without Evo in the midst. However, clinching to his base, he challenged the constitution by calling for a Referendum in 2016 asking voters if the constitution should be changed to allow him to run in 2019. In response, the “Bolivia said NO!” chant began to echo on the streets and Evo received his first electoral BLOW. The opposition celebrated this loss as the beginning of the end of the Evo era.
In desperation, Evo began a victimization campaign and, along his devoted followers, appealed to the Constitutional Court to annul the Referendum claiming that he didn’t finish his term in 2008 and that the results did not represent the will of the people as a smear campaign, deliberated by the opposition, discredited him. The Courts agreed. Citing the American Convention on Human Rights of 1969, they ruled that re-election limits were a violation of Evo’s political and human rights. The Referendum was, therefore, annulled and re-election limits were abolished on all public offices. Thereon, Evo could run for an indefinite period despite his never-ending claims that the “next” elections would be his last as he would retire to manage his coca farm.
Fast forward, in October 2019, apprehensively, millions of Bolivians showed up to vote to an election that set-in motion one the most scandalous ELECTORAL FRAUDS exposed to the world.
Evidence of a widespread Fraud emerged in social media networks with people showing video footage of discarded ballot boxes stored in homes, warehouses and such. A televised report, presented by the leader of an IT group of Engineers (Edgar Villegas), uncovered a seditious digital fraud showing how results were manipulated in Evo’s favor and his party in all instances. The scandalous findings forced the OAS to perform an audit. They later confirmed the Fraud and silenced all doubts.
As a result, the outcry of the Bolivian people resonated in all corners of the country and around the world. Support for the anti-Evo protests exploded in Social Media networks. Alejandro Rincon, a Mexican reporter, became the hero of the opposition for his fair and accurate reporting and Argentinian reporters were despised for staging chaos that favor Evo.
Fearless Bolivians flooded the streets chanting heroically cadences:
WHO SURRENDERS!! NO ONE SURRENDERS!
WHO IS TIRED!! NO ONE IS TIRED!
EVO AGAIN KISS MY A…!
The national anthem emerged as an emblem of patriotism as its lyrics declare: “DEATH before a life of enslavement.”
Other chants protested socialist/communist nations: THIS IS NOT CUBA, THIS IS NOT VENEZUELA, THIS IS BOLIVIA AND BOLIVIA WILL BE RESPECTED! MY VOTE WILL BE RESPECTED!
Evo’s unbreakable power, seemingly impossible to defeat, gave rise to unknown Bolivian heroes that shattered his glory.
Police Commander William Villa Davis, opposed the government by saying: “CRASH ME, but I will not raise a single weapon against my people.”
Others follow suit including Civic Leaders such as Marco Pumari who claimed: “We are fighting for Democracy and for our children! WE ARE NOT AFRAID!”
Luis Fernando Camacho, another valiant leader who became the FACE of the opposition and made the whole country PRAY, defy the president by traveling to La Paz declaring: “I’m not taking any weapons and I know I might lose my life, but I’m going with my faith and my hope; with a Bible in my right hand and a resignation letter in the other. I have faith that I will come back with a signature (Evo’s). VICTORY IS NEAR. LET’S NOT GIVE UP!
The Armed Forces of Bolivia had no choice but to join the wave of patriotism that reviled against authoritarianism and gave life to the WILL OF THE PEOPLE. They asked (not forced) Evo to resigned, AND HE DID.
When Evo left or escaped, sheltered by a socialist Mexican President, peaceful protesters were confronted by enraged Evo loyalists. Homes were burned, people were beaten and killed, public transportation stopped and a report of the police stopping an attempt to blow up a major Fuel Plan that would cause a tragedy of unprecedented consequences shocked the world and enraged Bolivians to the point that they begun to call Evo a terrorist and a murderer. More so when videos of Evo ordering his followers to block access to the cities to stop supplies of food and fuel emerged.
To combat Evo’s loyalists, neighbors had to join forces to fight against thousands of irate supporters approaching the cities by forming barricades. According to a witness account, as neighbors (mostly young and no more than three hundred against the thousands) heard Evo’s loyalists’ approach, they prepared for battle by whacking the metal of the barricades creating a deafening, chilling noise. When hopes of having the Armed Forces come to save the day faded and the battle seemed imminent, in a Hollywood blockbuster style, military vehicles with soldiers carrying weapons enter the scene to the cheer of the eager and grateful crowd. The Military and the Police forces were hailed as heroes thenceforth.
Among the disturbance, Jeanine Añez (the second female President in the history of the country.) assumed command as an interim President. She immediately called for peace and took measures to assure Bolivians that their fight was not in vain by calling for new elections. She has expelled undesirable individuals from the country including Cuban and Venezuelan and other pro-Evo activists that were destabilizing the country. She has recognized Juan Guaidó (a leader of the opposition) as the President of Venezuela; has abolished infinite term limits; has reestablished relationships with the US and other European countries, and has surrounded herself with leadership that includes all races challenging the claims that Bolivia continues to be a racists country.
For millions of Bolivians, Evo was the undesirable symbol of suppression. The end of a Democracy fought so fearlessly by their forebears. Helpless, they saw Venezuela and Cuba as their approaching fate with Evo at the helm; that just couldn’t happen. But how do peaceful citizens win battles without weapons? They surely needed more than their peaceful protests or some sort of a miracle. But as history will reveal, they had both. They enlisted the armor of God to protect them and guide them, a divine intervention that gives an explanation to the ousting of Evo, with deaths and chaos, yes, but nothing to the extent that merits the outcome.
SoRIGHT! 