Power holiday and violence in Bolivia after the resignation of Evo Morales

Towards chaos in Bolivia? Since the resignation of President Evo Morales and several other politicians, the country is facing a vacancy of power, while unrest erupted on the night of Sunday 10 to Monday, November 11 in La Paz and El Alto, a city next to the Bolivian capital.

In La Paz, dozens of protesters "have entered our facilities and are burning buses," the municipal public transport service in La Paz said on Twitter. The media showed that fifteen vehicles were burning in the bus maintenance center.

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The leader of a citizens 'collective, Waldo Albarracin, who has been working on Evo Morales' resignation requests, said that his house was burned down and destroyed by "a crowd" of members of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), the party of Evo Morales. The rector of the State University of La Paz has posted on his Twitter account a video of his home in flames.

A turba of masistas quemó destroyed there half casa, mi familia y yo our encontramos well there in a lugar seguro. Esta acción criminal demuestra el carácter violento y delincuencial del Movimiento al Socialismo. Esto no me acallara, seguiré denunciando the injusticias y the corrupción pic.twitter.com/Y3Zo6nUoWq

Television Universitaria presenter Casimira Lema also said that her house was burned down. And a former minister, Juan Ramon Quintana, said on television that his home had been looted by strangers who took away all his documents.

Houses of personalities set on fire

Several dozens of people also sowed fear during the night in the affluent neighborhood of Achumani, in the south of La Paz.

In this district is the headquarters of a daily newspaper critical of Evo Morales, Pagina Siete. On the door of this newspaper, one could read a warning saying: "In front of the wave of terror which has been unleashed in the city of La Paz, the daily Pagina Siete suspends its activities for security."

>> To read: "The origins of the protest against Evo Morales in Bolivia"

Also in La Paz, the seat of the Venezuelan embassy was occupied by masked protesters following the resignation of President Morales, loyal ally of Caracas. "Fitted with dynamite, protesters masked with shields took the Venezuelan embassy in Bolivia, we are well and safe, but they want to do a massacre, help us to denounce this barbarism," he said. Venezuelan ambassador Crisbeylee Gonzalez to the official ABI news agency.

In the middle of the night, army patrols began to roam the streets of La Paz and El Alto. On the other hand, the police officers, many of whose units had been mutinous over the last few days against President Morales, were not patrolling, and their absence was not explained by their command.

Who to ensure the interim of Evo Morales ?

Some fear that the situation will deteriorate even further as Bolivia faces a power vacuum following the resignation of President Evo Morales and all other senior political leaders who should have taken over as head of the country.

The Bolivian Constitution stipulates that, in case of impediment of the president, the vice-president returns to vice-president (Alvaro Garcia Linera), then to the president of the Senate (Adriana Salvatierra) and, finally, to that of the Chamber of Deputies (Victor Borda). However, all resigned with Evo Morales, resulting in a vacancy of power.

According to constitutionalist Williams Bascopé, close to the opposition, the Parliament must appoint as soon as possible the presidents of both Houses. "Since there is no president of senators and deputies, parliamentarians must self-vote and elect their presidents," he told the media on Sunday.

The interim presidency could be occupied by a senator designated by an agreement between the political parties and civil groups behind the protests, he said. Once in power, he will have to appoint an interim consensus government and call for elections as soon as possible.

With AFP