“I think this is a bad thing that’s happened and I see the hands of the US behind it,” Kovalik said, adding that there has been “evidence released of conversation between the White House and opposition leaders,” indicating that anti-Morales protests might have been a “coordinated” campaign.
“And we know that the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has been spending millions of dollars in Bolivia for years trying to undermine Evo Morales”
A CIA offshoot of sorts, the NED channeled nearly $1 million into the South American country in democracy promoting aid in 2018 alone. A huge chunk of the funds was used by the International Republican Institute (IRI), which promotes a right-wing agenda.
Kovalik said that more proof of US involvement in the turmoil is bound to come out with time.
Morales’ decision to resign rather than cling to power while risking the lives of his supporters, who turn out for mass rallies in his name, “undermines the claims that he is some sort of a dictator,” Kovalik said.
“That shows a lot about who he is. That shows that Morales cares about his own country… he’s shown himself to have the well-being of his own people at heart.”
Noting that Morales, the first indigenous leader in the history of his country, has vastly improved living standards for people, including the indigenous population, Kovalik argued that his departure might spell trouble for the South American country.
Also on rt.com Bolivian President Morales announces his resignation
Kovalik believes that while right-wing parties might try to capitalize on Morales’s resignation, they lack grassroots support.
“I’m not sure they have much popular support, so we’ll have to see if Evo Morales’s party can go on and win without him.”
Thousands of people flooded the streets to protest what the opposition called a rigged election on October 20, in which Morales secured a 10-percent win, which allowed him to avoid a run-off. Morales, once a very popular leader, was faced with a wave of unrest and mutiny from the military. Kovalik believes that outside interference might have played a role in this change of heart.
The US just wants to help.
??
Look over there: it's PUTIN. https://t.co/thBb9I4eOF
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 10, 2019
“Of course, people change their minds about things, but I also think there’s been some manipulation of the public in Bolivia.”
(SOURCE: RUSSIA TODAY)
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