President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday (16) condemned the arrest of the former interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Añez, and declared that the accusation against her was “unreasonable”.
“The defense and promotion of democracy is one of the fundamental principles of Prosul [Foro para o Progresso da América do Sul]. In this sense, we are concerned about the events taking place in Bolivia, our neighbor and brother country, where former President Jeanine Añez and other authorities were arrested on the grounds of their participation in a coup, this which seems totally unreasonable. We hope that Bolivia will maintain the rule of law and democratic coexistence in full force ”, declared Bolsonaro, during the summit of heads of government in Prosul.
Prosul is an alliance of South American countries created in 2019 to isolate Venezuela from the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
Añez was president of Bolivia between November 2019 and November 2020. She took power following the resignation of Evo Morales, in a process seen as a coup by supporters of the left-wing leader.
She left the Bolivian government after the electoral victory of Luis Arce, Evo’s ally. His arrest took place on Saturday (13). She was found by officers hidden in a box bed.
On Monday (16), the Bolivian court set the preventive prison sentence at four months. She is charged with conspiracy, sedition and terrorism in the days following Evo’s resignation.
The complaint against the ex-president was lodged by a bloc of MPs and former MPs linked to Evo’s party. In the process, the prosecution accuses the high government of Añez of having caused more than 30 deaths in the repression of demonstrations after the departure of the indigenous leader.
The charges of “sedition, conspiracy and terrorism” refer to the way Añez acted during his period of transition to power – between November 12, 2019, two days after Evo’s resignation, and November 8, 2020, date which Arce took over after winning the election. held in October.
The penalties for the crimes described, if confirmed, range from 5 to 20 years in prison.
Añez says his arrest is illegal and constitutes an act of political persecution and that the government “accuses him of participating in a coup that never took place.”