The hope of reaching a political solution seems to be fading after the rejection of the international inquiry into the contested presidential election of 20 October.
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What foreshadowed a way out of the crisis finally led to a stalemate. On Wednesday, October 30, the government announced the opening of an independent international investigation by the Organization of American States (OAS) into the disputed electoral process of October 20th. Evo Morales, president in office for thirteen years, was renewed in the first round with 47.08% of the votes (to win, you need an absolute majority or at least 40% of the vote with 10 points ahead of the second), but the opposition immediately denounced a "Scandalous fraud", pointing out many irregularities.
For "Lift the doubt", in the words of Foreign Minister Diego Pary, the investigation led by thirty international experts is due to end in a dozen days on a report " restrictive " for all parties, as stipulated in the agreement between the OAS and the government. An international mission under high pressure. On Friday, barely a day after he began investigating, the head of the mission announced his resignation "Not to compromise impartiality" the process, after acknowledging having written articles critical of Evo Morales. Arturo Espinosa, a lawyer and Mexican scholar, had published the previous week an opinion piece about the elections in Bolivia in which he was very critical of the Socialist president, accusing him of wanting to stay at all costs. power.
The government assured that it would abide by the results of the international body, while recalling that there is no doubt that the Movement to Socialism (MAS, the ruling party) won the elections hands down. But for the opposition, the account is not there. The centrist Carlos Mesa, the main voice of the opposition, second in the elections (37.51%), rejected this 'Agreement concluded unilaterally', "Without representatives of civil society"neither political parties. "It has probably closed the only political and institutional solution to the crisis the country is going through"says Bolivian political science professor and sociologist Fernando Mayorga.
