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Bolivia Has Fallen

If you thought of a South American country that has suffered from political division, the rise of the far-right, violent street encounters, and international interference, the first country that would pop into your head would be Venezuela. But while news stories from South America have been dominated by the attempted coup in Venezuela, and the Amazon fires, turmoil has pursued under the radar in Bolivia.

To be honest I was a little caught off guard by the resignation of President Evo Morales, Bolivia has thrived under his leadership, and I was unaware of the extent of foreign interference and political turmoil in the country. But honestly I'm not in the slightest bit surprised.

Bolivia is the country in which iconic communist Ché Guevara was executed, following collusion between the CIA, Bolivian forces and militias, and has a long history of colonialism and fascism. In fact in WW2 the USA had drafted plans to invade South America, as they feared that many countries on the continent, especially Brazil, would join the Axis forces. Check out 'Plan Rubber' online for more info.

Currently socialists on the continent are facing what could be described as a purge. Former members of the FARC are being murdered in the hundreds in Colombia, Brazil has imprisoned leftists, the international attempts to overthrow the left in Venezuela, and the history of fascism in Chile and Argentina, are all just some examples of where the continent lies on the political spectrum.

But this latest coup is far from over and is not about Evo Morales. The military has forced the president to resign, but also those who could take his place as President of Bolivia, leaving a power vacuum. Over the coming weeks, or even days, we could see Bolivia's version of Juan Guido installed as president, and welcomed by fascist governments all over the world.

What has happened in Bolivia, is almost identical to what happened in Venezuela, only this time there has been a success for the right. Foreign interference has destabilised the country, their democratic process has been discredited, anti-government propaganda has been rife, and the military have been turned against their leaders. With such consistency in how democratic governments have been overthrown on the continent, perhaps in twenty years time we'll read of 'Plan Rubber Part 2'.

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