2019 Bolivian protests

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2019 Bolivian protests
Date	Before Morales resignation 21 October – 10 November 2019 After Morales resignation 11–21 November 2019
Location	Bolivia
Caused by	Before Morales resignation Alleged election fraud in the 2019 Bolivian general election After Morales resignation Opposition to acting president Jeanine Áñez and support for Morales and Movement for Socialism
Methods	Protests, rioting, civil resistance, unrest, and strike actions
Resulted in	Morales resigns as President of Bolivia Áñez becomes acting president; new elections held in October 2020 Luis Arce and the MAS-IPSP win 2020 elections Áñez placed under arrest on 13 March, 2021
Parties
Morales loyalists Armed Forces of Bolivia (before 10 November 2019)[citation needed] Bolivian National Police (before 10 November 2019)[citation needed] Movement for Socialism Pro-MAS protesters[1] Red Ponchos Unified Trade Union Sub Federation of Peasant Workers of Ancoraimes – Tupak Katari Communist Party of Bolivia Unified Syndical Confederation of Rural Workers of Bolivia Áñez loyalists Civic Community coalition Christian Democratic Party Bolivian National Police (from 10 November 2019) Armed Forces of Bolivia (from 10 November 2019) Anti-MAS protesters Santa Cruz Youth Union Bolivian Workers' Center Revolutionary Nationalist Movement Nationalist Democratic Action
Lead figures
Evo Morales (President of Bolivia until 10 November 2019) Álvaro García Linera Diego Pary Rodríguez Víctor Borda Jeanine Áñez (President of Bolivia from 10 November 2019) Carlos Mesa Luis Camacho Marco Pumari Chi Hyun Chung Rafael Quispe
Casualties
Death(s)	33 (as of 27 November 2019)[2]
Injuries	804 (as of 27 November 2019)[2]
Arrested	1511 (as of 27 November 2019)[2]

2019 Bolivian political crisis
Causes
2016 constitutional referendum 2019 general election
Effects
2019 protests Shortages Senkata and Sacaba massacres
Events
Resignation of Morales and his government International reactions Mexico–Bolivia diplomatic crisis 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Elections
2020 Bolivian general election
Bolivia portal
v t e

The 2019 Bolivian protests, also known as the Pitita Revolution (Spanish: la Revolución de las Pititas),^[3] were protests and marches from 21 October 2019 until late November of that year in Bolivia, in response to claims of electoral fraud in the 2019 general election of 20 October. After 11 November 2019, there were protests by supporters of the outgoing government in response to Jeanine Áñez becoming the acting president of Bolivia. The claims of fraud were made after the suspension of the preliminary vote count, in which incumbent Evo Morales was not leading by a large enough margin (10%) to avoid a runoff, and the subsequent publication of the official count, in which Morales won by just over 10%. Some international observers expressed concern over the integrity of the elections.^[4]

While the majority of the demonstrations were peaceful, there were also numerous acts of violence. Initial violence allegedly targeted opposition protesters, Pro-MAS supporters were bused into opposition areas, given weapons, and were told to clear blockades, resulting in death and injury of opposition protesters.^[5][6][7] In the later weeks of the protests, senior members of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) and their families were victims of attacks, including vandalism and arson of their houses.^[8][9]

Morales denied the allegations and invited international observers to audit the electoral processes, promising to hold a runoff if any fraud was found, although initially refusing to be bound by the results of an audit.^[10][11] Opposition leaders rejected the OAS audit, saying they hadn't been party to the agreement.^[12] Subsequently, an audit team from the Organization of American States (OAS), with access provided by Bolivian authorities, worked to verify the integrity and reliability of the results. Their preliminary report, released on 10 November 2019 questioned the integrity of the election results and recommended another "electoral process".^[13]

Following the release of the OAS initial report, Morales announced the government would hold another full election (rather than a runoff).^[14] However, later that day, the influential National Union of Workers requested Morales' resignation, followed 5 hours later by the commanders of the Armed Forces who suggested Morales resign during a live televised press conference, and almost immediately after, the national Police Commander also requested his resignation. Morales, together with his Vice President Álvaro García Linera, resigned the same day, on live television, both also delivered written resignations.^[15][16][17] In Morales's case, he would later describe in his memoir Volveremos y seremos millones (We'll come back and we'll be millions) that he made the decision to resign the night before the requests.^[18] Following his resignation and the resignations of the next two politicians in the line of succession, Jeanine Áñez, second vice-president of the Senate, was next in line for the presidency. On 12 November 2019, she formed an interim government.

Protests continued until the end of November, primarily by those that sought Morales' return. Under direction from Morales and his allies, and at times under coercion, protesters created blockades on inter-departmental highways, resulting in shortages of food and fuel.^[19][20] The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concerns over the use of force by the new government in response to armed protests at Senkata and Sacaba.^{[21][22][23][24]} By 25 November 2019, the interim government had made agreements with most protest leaders to end blockades, and began to withdraw troops and to release arrested protesters.^[25]