The Left group in the European Parliament rejects the coup d’état against Bolivia’s President Evo Morales and condemns threats against government officials and their families.

Sandra Pereira (PCP, Portugal), vice-President of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (DLAT), has recently come back from Bolivia where she observed the presidential elections. She warned that the latest events might spell the return of fascism in Bolivia:

“We denounce and reject the coup in Bolivia against the legitimate president Evo Morales.

“This coup is the responsibility of the most reactionary and violent forces in Bolivia that are fighting against the popular movements, trade unions, unionists, and government officials. It has also support from the US, which wants to defeat the progressive and sovereign project that started in 2006, making possible the threat of fascism against the Plurinational State of Bolivia.”

Also observing the elections in Bolivia was Manu Pineda (Izquierda Unida, Spain) who has criticised the deafening silence of the EU:

“Evo Morales had annulled the elections and called for new ones yet this has not stopped the violent coup d’etat. A coup plotted by an oligarchy that has never accepted that the Bolivian government could be the voice of the people and to which for the moment the international community and the EU have not responded forcefully.

“They are keeping the same silence as the UN and the international organisations that expressed concern about the outcome of the elections and that are now complicit with what is happening.

“We are worried about the safety of President Morales, vice-President García Linera, party militants and family members held hostage by the coup plotters.

“We demand that the EU condemn the coup d’etat and guarantee the safety of all government leaders and the possibility of new elections open for everyone to run,” Pineda concluded.