A Bolivian court found former President Jeanine Áñez guilty on Friday of orchestrating a coup that brought her to power during a 2019 political crisis. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison. A former military commander and former police general were also convicted.
Áñez, 54, was convicted of making “decisions contrary to the Constitution” and for “abuse of duty”.
The prosecution said that Áñez, then a right-wing senator, violated norms that guarantee constitutional and democratic order after the 2019 presidential elections in Bolivia. Áñez’s defense said she would appeal to international bodies to seek justice, and several sectors of the opposition planned marches to protest the decision.
Bolivia is divided over whether a coup took place when then-President Evo Morales resigned in 2019, with Áñez ascending the presidency amid a leadership vacuum left in his wake.
Morales’ departure followed mass protests over a disputed election in which he claimed to have won a controversial fourth consecutive term. Áñez claims she is innocent.
The contentious case further exposed flaws in a deeply divided country, as well as fueling concerns about the judicial process in Bolivia.
“We are concerned about the way this case was handled. And we ask the higher courts to examine how the proceedings were conducted,” Cesar Munoz, senior researcher for the Americas at Human Rights Watch, said in an interview ahead of the verdict.
Áñez was not allowed to attend the trial in person, instead following the hearing and participating in the arrest. She has been in detention since her arrest in March 2021 on initial charges of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy.
Members and supporters of Morales’ Movement to Socialism (MAS) party, which returned to power in 2020, say Áñez played a key role in what he says was a coup against Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, who oversaw a dramatic downsizing. from poverty to president from 2005 to 2019.
As president, Áñez was accused of settling political scores when his government prosecuted former MAS officials. Áñez’s supporters say her trial was illegitimate and political. At his trial, Áñez said it was a product of circumstances and that his rise to top office helped calm a tense nation and lay the groundwork for elections in October 2020.
“I didn’t lift a finger to become president, but I did what I had to do. I assumed the presidency out of obligation, in accordance with what is established in the constitution,” Áñez said in his final statement to the judge.
Source: CNN Brasil
