A blog post by Chelsea Miles, Junior Associate.
Evo Morales made history as Bolivia’s first indigenous president and Bolivia’s longest-serving president.Recently, Bolivia has experienced weeks of civil unrest which led to the deaths of at least 31 people. The protests eventually led to the people of Bolivia to call for Morales to step down, Morales eventually resigned on November 20, 2019. Protests ensued after the election held on October 20, 2019. The preliminary results of the election showed that the votes were close enough that a second round election would be held. Following those results, the live vote count was unexpectedly suspended for 24 hours. When the live-results returned, it showed that Morales’ had a significant lead, putting an end to opponent Carlos Mesa’s hopes that there would be a second round. The suspension of the vote count led to speculations about corruption in the voting process, and riots began to transpire. The Organization of American States (OAS) held an audit of the election results, which showed that there was “intentional manipulation” and “serious irregularities” with the election results. Following the release of the report, many protestors began to assemble and members of Morales’ party began to resign.
On November 10, 2019, chief of the armed forces suggested that Morales step down as the Country’s president in order to maintain stability in the country. Later that day, Evo Morales announced his resignation. Former President Morales later shared a photo on his twitter account of him sleeping on the floor, claiming that he was “forced by the coup” to flee his home. Morales later fled to Mexico on November 12, 2019. Upon his departure from Bolivia, Morales’ sent a tweet to his followers, claiming that he will “return with more strength and energy.” Senator Jeanine Añez is serving as the Country’s interim president. Bolivia will now hold a Presidential election, which is set to be held on May 3, 2020.
 Anatoly Kurmanaev & Cesar Del Castillo, How an Unknown Female Senator Came to Replace the Bolivian President Evo Morales, N.Y. TIMES (Nov. 24, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/24/world/americas/how-an-unknown-female-senator-came-to-replace-the-bolivian-president-evo-morales.html.
 Gremaud Angee & Joshua Berlinger, Bolivia’s Death Toll Rises As Protests Continue, CNN (Nov. 20, 2019), https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/20/americas/bolivia-unrest-intl-hnk/index.html.
 Ian Bremmer, What the End of Bolivia;s President Means for the Counntry, TIME (Nov. 14, 2019), https://time.com/5728117/bolivia-presidency-evo-morales-repercussions/.
 Dan Collyns, Bolivian President Evo Morales Resigns After Election Result Dispute, The Guardian (Nov. 11, 2019), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/10/bolivian-president-evo-morales-resigns-after-election-result-dispute.
 Bolivia Election: Anger Mounts Over Result Confusion, BBC News(Oct. 22, 2019), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50134451.
 Evo Morales: Overwhelming Evidence of Election Fraud In Bolivia, Monitors Say, BBC News (Dec. 6, 2019), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50685335
 Bremmer, supra note 2.
 Bolivian Army Chief Urges Morales to Step Down, BBC News (Nov. 10, 2019), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50369591.
Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo), Twitter (Nov. 11, 2019, 8:10 PM), https://twitter.com/evoespueblo/status/1194059795365543936
 Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo), Twitter (Nov. 11, 2019 8:29 PM) https://twitter.com/evoespueblo/status/1194064700075589638
 Kurmanaev & Del Castillo supra note 1.
 Rachelle Krygler, Bolivia’s Election Tribunal Sets May Date for New Presidential Election, Wash. Post (Jan. 3, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/bolivias-election-tribunal-sets-may-date-for-new-presidential-election/2020/01/03/1391e37e-2a92-11ea-bffe-020c88b3f120_story.html.