Guatemalan indigenous people march in support of Morales
Guatemalan civilian and rural organizations demonstrate in front of US Embassy in support of former Bolivian President Evo Morales, in Guatemala City, on November 14, 2019 © AFP ORLANDO ESTRADA
Hundreds of indigenous people marched through the Guatemalan capital on Thursday in support of Bolivia’s ex-president Evo Morales, granted asylum in Mexico after resigning amid protests over election irregularities.
“We are repudiating the discriminatory and racist coup d’Etat that took place in Bolivia,” said Mauro Vay, head of Guatemala’s Rural Development Committee which organized the march.
Protesters marched down one of Guatemala City’s main streets to the US embassy, which was guarded by a large police presence.
“Brother Evo, Guatemala is with you,” a long banner held up by marchers said. Others carried multicolored whipala flags, an indigenous symbol.
Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, resigned Sunday after losing the support of the security forces following weeks of violent protests over irregularities in the October 20 polls.
The violence has left 10 dead and around 400 injured.
The Guatemalan government joined the United States on Wednesday in recognizing the conservative senator Jeanine Anez as interim president.
Vay dismissed the change of government as a “coup d’etat” which he said was “aimed at all the indigenous peoples of Latin America and the world.”
Thelma Cabrera, a candidate in Guatemala’s recent presidential election, said the change of government in Bolivia “is a big outrage to the indigenous peoples of Latin America, to humiliate us, to plunder, to hide all the rights of the peoples.”