Bolivia: start of public hearings in the trial of ex-president Jeanine Añez
The trial of former interim president Jeanine Añez in Bolivia begins today, on trial for having acceded to the presidential chair in 2019 without respecting the procedure imposed by the Constitution.
© REUTERS/David Mercado
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
This Thursday, February 10, the trial of the ex-Bolivian interim head of state begins, with two counts: resolutions contrary to the Constitution and non-compliance with his duties.
An ordinary trial against Jeanine Añez, tried for having acceded to the presidential chair without respecting the procedure imposed by the Constitution, after the departure of Evo Morales in 2019.
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With our correspondent in La Paz
,
Alice Campaignolle
The anti-corruption court is not judging ex-president Jeanine Añez, but ex-senator Añez, the one who installed herself in the presidency alongside the commander of the armed forces who gave her the presidential sash.
For the public prosecutor, this accession was unconstitutional.
"
What she said that day was 'I'm assuming the presidency now.'
It is a self-proclamation,
believes Israel Quino, constitutional lawyer
.
And in our political history, it is only during dictatorships that we have seen soldiers appear at the presidential palace to govern.
»
The right to trial for liability denied
Jeanine Añez
would thus have been at the head of a coup against
Evo Morales
.
But according to his lawyers, today, his rights would be completely violated.
"
The public prosecutor did something that we have not even made the worst dictators in our country experience: deny her the right to a trial for accountability when she was head of state
", specifies one of his lawyers, Luis Guillen.
But without the vote of Parliament, it is impossible to bring a lawsuit.
However, the opposition deputies refused to vote to judge the ex-president, perhaps without thinking that their decision could be circumvented.
►
To read: The prosecution accuses of "genocide" the ex-interim president Jeanine Añez
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Bolivia
Evo Morales
Justice