Bolivia

LA PAZ, Nov 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bolivia appointed its first ambassador to the United States in 11 years, officials said, as the interim government resets the country’s foreign policy after the departure of Evo Morales.

Walter Oscar Serrate Cuellar has been given the key posting, the foreign ministry announced on Twitter, filling a position left vacant since a diplomatic spat between La Paz and Washington in 2008.

The high-profile appointment, which has to be approved by Congress, comes as the caretaker government prepares to hold new elections that exclude Morales.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian lawmakers on Saturday unanimously approved a measure calling for new presidential elections that would exclude former leader Evo Morales — a key step toward pacifying a nation rocked by unrest since an Oct. 20 marred by reported irregularities.

The bill was first approved by the Senate and then later in the day by the lower house, both of which are dominated by Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism party. Interim President Jeanine Áñez tweeted that she would promulgate the bill into law Sunday morning.

23 November 2019; AFP: Bolivia's caretaker government on Friday filed a complaint accusing Evo Morales of "sedition and terrorism" after the ex-president allegedly called on supporters to maintain blockades in the crisis-hit country.

Interior Minister Arturo Murillo referred the case to federal prosecutors in La Paz, which has been choked by road blocks for weeks, causing food and fuel shortages in the seat of government.

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Supporters of ousted Bolivian leader Evo Morales marched into the capital La Paz on Thursday carrying coffins of people killed in clashes with the military and police, drawing attention to the human cost of the crisis gripping the South American nation.

Security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowds after demonstrators placed one protester’s coffin and an effigy of interim President Jeanine Anez on top of an armored military vehicle and tried to enter the square where the presidential palace is located, a Reuters witness said.

EL ALTO, Bolivia (Reuters) - In the high-altitude Bolivian city of El Alto, perched on barren steppe above the capital, indigenous activists have led the fight for the return of unseated president Evo Morales.

Hundreds have blockaded a major power plant and fought deadly battles with security forces.

Others have marched down into La Paz carrying the colorful Wiphala - a checkered flag symbolic of Andean ethnic groups - to pressure conservative caretaker President Jeanine Anez.

LA PAZ, Nov 19 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — At least two protest marches converged in the center of Cochabamba city on Monday, to demand the resignation of the self-proclaimed interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Añez.

Encouraged by the slogan ‘áAñez Out!,’ protesters carried Bolivian and Wiphala flags with a black ribbon to represent their mourning following the death of nine indigenous protesters during the repression unleashed on Friday by military and police in the area of Huayllani (Sacaba).

LA PAZ, Nov 18 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — The United Nations envoy for Bolivia, Jean Arnault, began a series of meetings here with the aim of promoting the pacification of the country, curbing violence and preserving life.

After meeting with the self-proclaimed president, Jeanine Áñez, Arnault insisted on the urgent need to contribute in the best possible way to the objective of holding free, transparent and inclusive elections.

LA PAZ, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Bolivians suffered long lines on the streets of La Paz to secure chicken, eggs and cooking fuel as supporters of ousted President Evo Morales continued to cripple the country’s highways, isolating population centres from lowland farms.

Officials said a massive Hercules military plane had touched down in the highland capital of La Paz Saturday with a cargo full of meat products, bypassing the barricaded highways that drop down out of the city.

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Shadowed by street violence and food shortages, a U.N. envoy is urging the government of Bolivia’s self-proclaimed interim president and supporters of self-exiled leader Evo Morales to begin talks on peacefully resolving a crisis that has already claimed 23 lives, an official said Sunday.

SACABA, Bolivia (AP) — A U.N. envoy met with Bolivia’s interim president Saturday to find a way out of the country’s political crisis while the world body expressed concern the situation could “spin out of control” amid a rising death toll.

On leaving the meeting with interim leader Jeanine Áñez, envoy Jean Arnault said the United Nations hopes it can contribute to an “accelerated pacification process” leading to new elections following the resignation and exile of Evo Morales.