Bolivian elections under heavy military watch

Bolivian elections under heavy military watch
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Fecha de publicación: 
18 October 2020
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La Paz, Oct 18 (Prensa Latina) Elections in Bolivia 10 months after president Evo Morales was deposed by a coup d'Etat are taking place today under a hightened police and military deployment, a rare and unconstitutional situation.
 
Journalist Alex Anfruns shared in Twitter images of the military deployment including armored cars, tanks and heavily armed troops, and denounced the double standard of several governments and international organizations with respect to Bolivia and this election.

The polls opened early Sunday for over 7.3 million Bolivians who are choosing a new president, vice president and the Congress.

Anfruns ironically wrote that if it were a military regime friend of Washington everything goes well and is refined democracy; however, if it were a sovereign government pushing forward a process of popular changes, then it would have been tyranny.

Criminologist Gabriela Reyes denounced the militarization under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Government Arturo Murillo, saying the Constitution is being breached.

Italian journalist Giorgio Trucchi also criticized that the de facto authorities are militarizing Bolivia, and shared a video in social media as proof of the huge military deployment in La Paz.

This movement arouses suspicion on the elections, as political analysts believes that a triumph of Luis Arce, the candidate for the Movement toward Socialism, Evo Morales' coalition, would be followed up by a new coup.

According to surveys, Arce would win the vote, ahead of ex president Carlos Mesa and ultra right-wing Luis Fernando Camacho, one of the key leaders of last November coup against Evo Morales.

For Arce to win, without being forced to go to a runoff, he needs to win 50 percent of the ballots plus one vote, or, achieve 40 percent and a difference of 10 percentage points.

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