The temporary former president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, was sentenced this Friday to 10 years in prison accused of having carried out a coup against her predecessor, the leftist Evo Morales in 2019, the court announced.
The First Sentencing Court of La Paz announced its 10-year “conviction sentence”, to be served in a women’s prison in La Paz. The sentence comes three months after the trial began and 15 months since the former president was preventively imprisoned.
The Court, presided over by Judge Germán Ramos, announced in a hearing “the conviction” for the former president 54 years old «for the crimes of resolutions contrary to the Constitution and breach of duties […]to the sentence of 10 years”.
The former president was sentenced for breach of duties and resolutions contrary to the Constitution and the laws.
In her final argument, Áñez pointed out that the Court “excluded” evidence that ruled out an overthrow of Morales in 2019, who was in power for 14 years. “I never sought power,” he asserted.
The former president previously announced that she would appeal a conviction: “We will not stay here, we will go to international justice.”
Áñez trial
The former governor was tried for her acts as a senator, before she assumed the presidency of Bolivia, on November 12, 2019.
Áñez succeeded Morales, two days after he resigned, in the midst of a strong social upheaval. The opponents denounced that Morales had committed fraud in the elections of October of that year, to access a fourth consecutive term until 2025.
The former president, already in power, suffocated the strong opposition of social movements and peasants related to Morales. An investigation by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) established that in the first months of her government there were 35 deaths in demonstrations.
Áñez’s defense argued that the Plurinational Constitutional Court recognized the legality of the mandate and even Congress, controlled by Morales’ party, approved extending her “constitutional” mandate when the covid-19 pandemic forced the postponement of elections in 2020.
