Six months after the coup, journalist Ollie Vargas says the 'Bolivian people have been abandoned'

[Judi Lynn]

John McEvoy
10th May 2020

On 10 November 2019, sections of the Bolivian military and police launched a successful coup against socialist president Evo Morales. The coup was followed by a proliferation of violence steeped in Christian fundamentalism and Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, was forced to flee. New elections did not follow and the new administration, with the backing of the US government, looks unlikely to relinquish power any time soon.

The Canary spoke with journalist Ollie Vargas, who has been reporting from Bolivia since shortly after the coup. He recently launched Kawsachun News, an English-language news outlet which promises to be the authority on Bolivia.

We’re coming up to six months since the coup against Evo Morales in November 2019. Can you give a brief outline of how and why the coup in Bolivia occurred?

There were different stages to the coup. The Bolivian right realised that they were on course for their fourth electoral defeat and they became desperate.

The first phase was creating destabilisation through waves and waves of fake news. A large number of people were getting their news and information through WhatsApp groups and Facebook meme pages, which were pumping out vast amounts of fake news inciting people to take to the streets against a supposedly socialist dictator. That’s how the idea of electoral fraud was built up before any election even took place.

More:
https://www.thecanary.co/feature/2020/05/10/six-months-after-the-coup-journalist-ollie-vargas-says-the-bolivian-people-have-been-abandoned/

[secondwind]

1. "with the backing of the U.S. administration".....

WHY the fuck did we support the overthrow of Morales???!!?