Democratic Candidates Are Fumbling in Response to the Bolivian Coup

Perhaps it’s because they may have to own up to insidious U.S. interventionist actions over the decades

Bolivia’s interim president, Jeanine Anez speaks during a press conference during her first day in power, at the Quemado presidential palace in La Paz, on November 13, 2019. Photo: Jorge Bernal/Getty Images

Jeanine Añez, Bolivia’s interim president, assumed the role of head of state last month carrying a large Bible into the presidential home saying, “The Bible returns to the Palace.” With a history of making disturbing anti-Indigenous remarks, she has tweeted that the Aymara New Year holiday was “satanic” and that “nobody can replace God.” The Aymara constitute 41% of the country’s population. She has also invoked a Christian God as a source of political power.

President Trump has praised the ouster of Morales, a native Bolivian of Aymara ancestry, but the field of Democratic presidential candidates has not been consistent in their response to the rise of religious conservative Añez. Añez’s actions, such as persecuting journalists and political opponents and making racist statements, are opposed to the progressive ideals that Democratic candidates in the U.S. promote.

In October, Morales, the country’s first Indigenous president, won a fourth term. Morales ended up with a little more than a half-point over the threshold to avoid a second-round ballot. The Organization of American States (OAS) implied that there…