HAVANA, November 17. /TASS/. The main goal of Bolivia’s interim government is to ensure transparent elections, avoid chaos in the society and outside interference in the country’s internal affairs, Russian Federal Council (upper house of parliament) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said on Sunday on the outcomes of the meeting with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
"The most important thing now is to avoid chaos, lawlessness, further destabilization of the situation. It is important that all procedures be in accordance with the law and constitution of this country. Today, there is an interim power, the provisional government. The main goal of the interim government is to organize a transparent inclusive election that would earn the trust of the nation as soon as possible," Matviyenko told reporters.
"Another important thing is to avoid any outside interference in the domestic affairs of Bolivia, any pressure, so that the people of Bolivia can choose their fate independently, decide who will be the country’s president and determine the strategy of development of this state," the speaker added.
She noted that they had discussed the situation both with the Cuban president and with First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Raul Castro. "He is in great shape; he has a special energy to him. He might be one of the best experts on Latin America and the processes going on there. Russian and Cuban stances on what happened in Bolivia are similar," Matviyenko said.
She added that during the meeting, the sides expressed their concern over the generally unstable situation in Latin America, noting that Latin American countries have lost their unity, which hinders the development in the region.
Situation in Bolivia
A presidential election was held in Bolivia on October 20. The country's Supreme Electoral Court declared that incumbent President Evo Morales had won the vote. His main rival, former President Carlos Mesa, said that he did not recognize Morales' victory. After the results of the election had been announced, protests and strikes erupted across the South American country. Morales declared a state of emergency and accused the opposition of attempting to stage a coup.
On November 10, Morales announced his resignation, branding the recent developments as a coup d’·tat. He stepped down following the demands of the country’s armed forces, opposition and trade unions. On November 12, Morales arrived in Mexico, accepting an offer of political asylum. Meanwhile, the second vice president of Bolivia’s Senate, Jeanine Anez, declared herself interim president. The country’s Constitutional Court confirmed the legality of the transfer of power.
The protests in the country continued after Morales’ resignation. Earlier, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Michelle Bachelet noted that according to the UN, at least 17 people had been killed in demonstrations, with 14 deaths occurring in the past six days. "While the earlier deaths were mostly the result of violent confrontations between rival protesters, the most recent ones appear to be the result of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by the police and army," she said, calling on the interim government to adhere to the norms of international norms and guarantee the safety of Bolivian citizens.