National Nurses United Statement on Bolivian Coup.

https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/national-nurses-united-statement-bolivian-coup

National Nurses United (NNU) today joined with the AFL-CIO, international labor leaders, and other activists in condemning the military coup in Bolivia and urging an end to political repression and violence.

NNU endorsed concerns by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the leader of Brazil’s National Federation of Nurses (FNE) to protest the “military interference” in Bolivia.

Additionally, NNU also supports calls for restoration of democracy and a fair electoral process, including deposed former Bolivian President Evo Morales; and international solidarity for former ministers, their families, and supporters who have faced attacks or threats.

“We are alarmed by scenes of military intervention in the governance of Bolivia, arrests and acts of violence committed against supporters of the former Morales government, and racial attacks on indigenous peoples of Bolivia that have been seen across social media,” said NNU President Deborah Burger, RN.

“As nurses we have concerns for the health and safety of all Bolivian people, and urge an immediate, peaceful resolution that protects the rights and security of all Bolivians,” Burger said.

Burger said NNU endorses a statement yesterday by AFL-CIO President Trumka who said in a tweet: “The @AFLCIO joins the @ituc @CSA_TUCA in condemning military interference in Bolivia’s election process. Morales reduced widespread poverty and fought for the inclusion of the indigenous majority. Bolivians must be able to vote peacefully and freely in new elections.”

It started with peaceful protests against the coup

Supporters of exiled Pres Evo Morales out in full force today near the capital's airport

With fascist paramilitiaries working hand in glove with cops & military to violently repress them, their slogans have gotten steadily more militant:

"Guns! Bombs! El Alto won't stay quiet!" pic.twitter.com/1lMTuMUdM4

— Wyatt Reed (@wyattreed13) November 14, 2019

In more it's-totally-not-a-coup news, the self-proclaimed "President" of Bolivia – after seizing power as the left-wing President was sent into exile & warning him he'd be arrested if he returned – cut off relations with Venezuela & expelled Cuban doctors https://t.co/ovXx0J57ai

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 15, 2019

Bolivia coup led by Christian fascist paramilitary leader and millionaire – with foreign support

https://thegrayzone.com/2019/11/11/bolivia-coup-fascist-foreign-support-fernando-camacho/

Bolivian coup leader Luis Fernando Camacho is a far-right multi-millionaire who arose from fascist movements in the Santa Cruz region, where the US has encouraged separatism. He has courted support from Colombia, Brazil, and the Venezuelan opposition.

When Luis Fernando Camacho stormed into Bolivia’s abandoned presidential palace in the hours after President Evo Morales’s sudden November 10 resignation, he revealed to the world a side of the country that stood at stark odds with the plurinational spirit its deposed socialist and Indigenous leader had put forward.

With a Bible in one hand and a national flag in the other, Camacho bowed his head in prayer above the presidential seal, fulfilling his vow to purge his country’s Native heritage from government and “return God to the burned palace.”

“Pachamama will never return to the palace,” declared the pastor to his side, referring to the Andean Mother Earth spirit. “Bolivia belongs to Christ.”

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Virtually unknown outside his country, where he had never won a democratic election, Camacho stepped into the void. He is a powerful multi-millionaire named in the Panama Papers, and an ultra-conservative Christian fundamentalist groomed by a fascist paramilitary notorious for its racist violence, with a base in Bolivia’s wealthy separatist region of Santa Cruz.

Camacho hails from a family of corporate elites who have long profited from Bolivia’s plentiful natural gas reserves. And his family lost part of its wealth when Morales nationalized the country’s resources, in order to fund his vast social programs — which cut poverty by 42 percent and extreme poverty by 60 percent.

The peaceful protests were soon met with violence by the fascist supporters of the coup aided by the police and the military.

Many of these tweets will be in Spanish but you can see from the images and videos what is taking place!😢

Para justificar el golpe, Mesa y Camacho nos acusaron de "dictadura". Ahora su "presidenta" autonombrada y su gabinete de abogados defensores de violadores y represores, masacra al pueblo con las FFAA y la Policía como la verdadera dictadura. #NoAlGolpeDeEstadoEnBolivia pic.twitter.com/FiDDor2idk

— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) November 16, 2019

To justify the coup, Mesa and Camacho accused us of “dictatorship.” Now its self-appointed “president” and its cabinet of defense lawyers for rapists and repressors, massacre the people with the Armed Forces and the Police as the true dictatorship. # NoAlGolpeDeEstadoEnBolivia