All news

US will benefit from Mexico’s asylum for Bolivian leader, says expert

MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. The situation with Bolivian President Evo Morales, who was ousted in a coup and granted political asylum in Mexico, is advantageous for the United States, analyst Igor Pshenichnikov, of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISI), told TASS on Tuesday.

The expert has described Mexico’s asylum for Morales as "a gesture of independence from the US, which is unlikely to be welcomed by the Americans." However, this move is not expected to harm the Mexican leadership, he noted.

"Moreover that the Americans have achieved the most important thing. They don’t care where the former Bolivian president will be. It is most important that he has left the country," Pshenichnikov said.

"On October 10, a coup d’etat occurred in Bolivia and the US benefited the most from this," the expert said. "In general, this is a win-win situation for the Americans because they neither want to see [Morales] as president nor as a defendant in a possible trial," the expert pointed out.

Bolivia's presidential election was held on October 20. The country's Supreme Electoral Court declared that Morales won the first round. His main rival, former president Carlos Mesa, said that he did not recognize Morales' victory. After the results of the election were 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, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced his resignation, branding the recent developments as a coup d’etat. He stepped down following the demands of the country’s armed forces, opposition and trade unions. Several other ministers have decided to quit. Late on Monday, Morales left the country and headed to Mexico, which granted him political asylum due to humanitarian reasons.