If you get your news solely from the Twitter feeds of AOC and her merry band of socialist squad members, you’d think that a coup just happened in Bolivia:
What’s happening right now in Bolivia isn’t democracy, it’s a coup.
The people of Bolivia deserve free, fair, and peaceful elections – not violent seizures of power.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 11, 2019
There's a word for the President of a country being pushed out by the military. It’s called a coup.
We must unequivocally oppose political violence in Bolivia. Bolivians deserve free and fair elections.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 11, 2019
I am very concerned about what appears to be a coup in Bolivia, where the military, after weeks of political unrest, intervened to remove President Evo Morales. The U.S. must call for an end to violence and support Bolivia’s democratic institutions.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 11, 2019
Narrator voice: There was no coup:
No, Evo Morales' resignation is not a coup; it is one of the few big victories democracy has won in recent years.
Both leftist dictators, like Venezuela's Maduro, and far-right populists, like Hungary’s Orbán, should be terrified by it.
Me @TheAtlantic.https://t.co/yWsIfXdBM4
— Yascha Mounk (@Yascha_Mounk) November 11, 2019
Here’s Jeremy Corbyn getting fact-checked:
Morales has been in power 13 years. He lost a referendum on a fourth term. He ran regardless and won an election rife with irregularities. He was forced to resign amid mass protests. Even Bolivia's main workers' union asked him to step down. But sure, lest call it a "coup". https://t.co/pAHy0W8kbx
— Idrees Ahmad (@im_PULSE) November 10, 2019
And sorry, AOC, but Howard Dean is fact-checking you as well:
Morales was a great President ( so was Chavez) when they were democratically elected twice. But when they began to believe they were indispensable and began to cheat in elections and change the constitution to stay in power, they undermined democracy. This is the result. https://t.co/SdUjrZcAxg
— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) November 11, 2019
As is Jill Filipovic:
There are credible allegations Morales tampered with election results. We know a packed court let him do away with term limits. There were massive protests in the streets. Not saying this is ideal or even good, but yeah, it's complicated. https://t.co/bNKpZp77yc https://t.co/A4IbpXD9vE
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) November 12, 2019
Nuance? They don’t do nuance. From Vox:
Bolivian President Evo Morales has stepped down hours after agreeing to call new elections, the New York Times reports.
The plan to hold new elections stemmed from a damning report from the Organization of American States (OAS) released Sunday that found “clear manipulations” of the voting process during the country’s October 20 elections.
Morales has faced mounting pressure in recent weeks after squeezing out an electoral victory after 24 hours of silence from electoral officials on election night. Questions over how Morales went from facing a runoff before that period of silence to winning the election outright caused leading opposition groups to allege election fraud and demonstrations to unfold in the streets. At least three people have died during the protests.
The OAS report found the results had indeed been tampered with: “The manipulations to the [electoral] computer systems are of such magnitude that they must be deeply investigated by the Bolivian State to get to the bottom of and assign responsibility in this serious case,” the OAS report read.
The OAS recommended Bolivian officials dissolve the existing electoral body, which has been accused of being run by Morales supporters, and hold another election.
Morales said Sunday that he’d abide by those recommendations. Following calls for his resignation by members of the armed forces, opposition leaders, and the public, Morales announced his resignation Sunday evening.
The U.S. is backing new elections in the country:
Fully support the findings of the @OAS_official report recommending new elections in #Bolivia to ensure a truly democratic process representative of the people’s will. The credibility of the electoral system must be restored.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 10, 2019
As for Evo Morales, he’s now in Mexico:
Bolivia's Evo Morales takes asylum in Mexico. More here: https://t.co/dW6JzwKuzw pic.twitter.com/D9KEbmreDo
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 12, 2019
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