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The interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, announced this Thursday that she is withdrawing her candidacy for the October elections, in an attempt to prevent the triumph of leftist Luis Arce, the dolphin of former president Evo Morales.
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“Today I put aside my candidacy for the presidency of Bolivia to take care of democracy”Áñez said in a video released to the media. “It is not a sacrifice, it is an honor,” he said, given the risk of dividing the vote against Evo Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) and that he “ends up winning the election” on October 18.
The until now candidate for the Together alliance affirmed that his decision seeks to “help the victory of those of us who do not want the dictatorship”, because “if we do not unite, Morales will return”.
“If we do not unite, democracy loses, (…) the dictatorship wins,” he added, for which he urged to put aside differences and “build freedom with unity.” “I want to call for the unity of those who believe in democracy,” he said, while thanking the “understanding” for his decision in “a historic moment.”
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If we don’t unite, democracy loses
Jeanine Áñez bet that there is “a democratic candidate to confront the MAS,” whom she encouraged to defend a series of programs initiated by her interim government.
Áñez indicated that She will continue as temporary president until the election of a new head of government after the general elections.
The temporary president appeared in the video of about three and a half minutes, accompanied by the candidate of Juntos for the vice presidency, Samuel Doria Medina, several ministers of the interim government and politicians who support Áñez such as the mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla .
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The announcement came a day after the widest electoral poll published so far in the country places it in fourth place in voting intention, far from even being able to contest a second round with the first in the polls, the MAS candidate Luis Arce.
Áñez was in fourth place, with only 7% of the voting intention. He was below Arce (29.2%), former president Carlos Mesa (19%) and regional civic leader Luis Fernando Camacho (10.4%), without the possibility of winning or going to a possible second round.
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The former president of Bolivia Evo Morales (i) and the presidential candidate for the Movement towards Socialism (MAS), Luis Arce (d).
The Together alliance is one of the eight candidates that compete in the elections to elect president, vice president, deputies and senators.
Áñez assumed command in November 2019, after Morales’ resignation due to a strong social unrest. He promised to lead a transitional government in order to call new elections in 2020, but in January he announced his candidacy, a decision that was widely criticized by his adversaries and some allies.
EFE and AFP
