By SJ Otto

Just recently there as a coup in Bolivia, where US imperialist had figured that they could easily overthrow an elected socialist, just as they have in the case of democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz , in 1954 and Salvador Allende in 1973. Unlike those last two coups, in which anti-imperialist leaders simply left their offices and faded into history—supporters of President Evo Morales are not giving up. They are fighting back and they are fighting back effectively. For example, from Time magazine:

"Residents in several Bolivian cities are reporting food

and gasoline shortages because of protests by supporters of President Evo Morales, who resigned and fled to Mexico after a disputed election and nationwide unrest.

Bolivia

’s interim government said Monday that its efforts to resupply La Paz faced challenges because demonstrators cut off some transport routes. The new leadership is also struggling to open dialogue with opponents, particularly after the shooting deaths of nine pro-Morales coca growers during a confrontation with security forces Friday in the central town of Sacaba."

So the supporters of Morales have fought back. They are trying to use some of the same tactics the US is trying to use in Venezuela to defeat President Nicolás Maduro.

According to Aljazeera:

“…..People across Bolivia protested in the tens of thousands, and the crisis escalated when the Organization of American States (OAS) published a report saying the vote had forged signatures and that there had been data manipulation.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Morales insisted there was no fraud in the October election and denounced the report of OAS, accusing it of being politically motivated.

"I realised that it (the preliminary report) was politically motivated. I instructed the FM to call the OAS secretary-general to suspend the report's publication because it was going to create chaos in the country and more people were going to be killed. And that's what's happening now. The OAS is also part of the military coup. I told then that the preliminary report was going to bring us more deaths and create more confrontation, but they published it anyways," Morales said.”

During a Democratic forum hosted on Saturday night by Univision, the Spanish language network, most of the Democratic Party candidates for US President, lined up behind the official US position on the over throw of Morales was being justified because, supposedly Morales was attempting to become a dictator. It turns out that most US leaders still believe that removing a democratically elected president from a Latin American country is justified if that leaders is a socialist or simply doesn’t follow US foreign policy objectives.

According to Newsweek (11-19-2019):

"Senator Bernie Sanders said that the overthrow of Bolivian President Evo Morales was a "coup."

The moderator, Jorge Ramos—who was tossed from a news conference by presidential candidate, Donald Trump, in 2015—said others have maintained it was not a coup, and that Morales was attempting to become a dictator.

"I don't agree with that assertion," Sanders responded. "I think Morales did a very good job in alleviating poverty and giving the indigenous people of Bolivia a voice that they never had before."

"Now we can argue about his going for a fourth term, whether that was a wise thing to do... But at the end of the day, it was the military who intervened in that process and asked him to leave. When the military intervenes, Jorge, in my view, that's called a 'coup,'" said Sanders."

According to

Elizabeth Warren

✔@ewarren

The Bolivian people deserve free and fair elections, as soon as possible. Bolivia's interim leadership must limit itself to preparing for an early, legitimate election. Bolivia's security forces must protect demonstrators, not commit violence against them. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/16/780118421/8-killed-in-bolivia-as-protesters-call-for-return-of-ousted-president-evo-morale …

Besides Sanders, two Congress women who agree with him are Ilhan Omar

And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and they are just about the only two congress people who have the common sense to oppose what this country is doing in Latin America. Again according to Newsweek:

Ilhan Omar

✔@IlhanMN

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.

70.4K

9:19 PM - Nov 10, 2019

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

✔@AOC

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.

80K

1:26 PM - Nov 11, 2019

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Sander, AOC and Omar are right. It is a coup. And the military is not protecting protesters; it is protecting an interim government, chosen by the military, not elected by anyone. The coup is clearly designed to replace Morales with a pro-US puppet. So far at least 9 people have died as of Nov. 19. Those people were killed by either the military or police, both of whom have backed the new government.

Sanders is also right that Morales has been very popular and has done a lot to fight poverty in his country. That may be why so many US leaders oppose him.

According to Aljazeera:

“During his 14 years in power, Bolivia's economy had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America and poverty almost halved……"

Most congress people of both parties have declared their support for capitalism—a system dedicated to supporting the rights of millionaires and billionaires and putting wealthier people’s wants and needs above the needs of the poor and working poor. This policy is especially noticeable in US foreign policies. Leaders who support the needs of poor people are labeled as dictators or supporters of terrorism.

It is time for the common US people to stand up for the rights of poor and working poor. It is time to stand up against US Imperialism.