By , LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivians banged on pots and pans from windows and rooftops in the capital La Paz on Friday, protesting a controversial election count handing President Evo Morales a fourth consecutive term that would extend his rule to nearly two decades.Morales, 59, who swept to power in 2006 as the country’s first indigenous leader, hailed the official result of Sunday’s vote as another historic triumph for his leftist movement and accused the opposition, without evidence, of trying to stage a coup d’etat with foreign backing.Morales faced a fifth day of street protests in La Paz...…By , LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivians banged on pots and pans from windows and rooftops in the capital La Paz on Friday, protesting a controversial election count handing President Evo Morales a fourth consecutive term that would extend his rule to nearly two decades.Morales, 59, who swept to power in 2006 as the country’s first indigenous leader, hailed the official result of Sunday’s vote as another historic triumph for his leftist movement and accused the opposition, without evidence, of trying to stage a coup d’etat with foreign backing.Morales faced a fifth day of street protests in La Paz...WW…

By , LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia’s former interim President Jeanine Anez landed behind bars on Saturday in the capital of the country she led just six months ago after the new government arrested her on claims she participated in a 2019 coup to seize power.Anez and a raft of ministers and security officials face charges of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy over an alleged coup against Bolivia’s 13-year socialist government, according to an arrest warrant she posted on social media.Anez led Bolivia for less than a year after long-time President Evo Morales left office following contested...…By , LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia’s former interim President Jeanine Anez landed behind bars on Saturday in the capital of the country she led just six months ago after the new government arrested her on claims she participated in a 2019 coup to seize power.Anez and a raft of ministers and security officials face charges of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy over an alleged coup against Bolivia’s 13-year socialist government, according to an arrest warrant she posted on social media.Anez led Bolivia for less than a year after long-time President Evo Morales left office following contested...WW…

By , LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia’s new president, Luis Arce, has moved swiftly to restore ties with Iran and Venezuela, receiving the credentials of ambassadors from the two countries on Wednesday, just three days after his socialist party retook the reins of power.Bolivia’s government said in a statement it wanted to “reestablish diplomatic relations damaged by the previous de-facto government” led by conservative interim president Jeanine Anez.Writing on Twitter, Arce said he was restoring bilateral relations with Venezuela “to strengthen strategic ties for the good of our peoples.”He said...…By , LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia’s new president, Luis Arce, has moved swiftly to restore ties with Iran and Venezuela, receiving the credentials of ambassadors from the two countries on Wednesday, just three days after his socialist party retook the reins of power.Bolivia’s government said in a statement it wanted to “reestablish diplomatic relations damaged by the previous de-facto government” led by conservative interim president Jeanine Anez.Writing on Twitter, Arce said he was restoring bilateral relations with Venezuela “to strengthen strategic ties for the good of our peoples.”He said...WW…

By LA PAZ (Reuters) - A major Bolivian union led a protest march in the highland city of El Alto on Tuesday, opposing a delay to the country’s presidential election as tensions mount over the vote that will decide the country’s political future.Slideshow Thousands of people joined the march organized by the powerful Bolivian Workers’ Center (COB), an umbrella group representing various industries. They carried banners criticizing the conservative interim government, which read “We demand elections” after the ballot was pushed to Oct. 18 due to the coronavirus.The vote, a re-run of a fraught...…By LA PAZ (Reuters) - A major Bolivian union led a protest march in the highland city of El Alto on Tuesday, opposing a delay to the country’s presidential election as tensions mount over the vote that will decide the country’s political future.Slideshow Thousands of people joined the march organized by the powerful Bolivian Workers’ Center (COB), an umbrella group representing various industries. They carried banners criticizing the conservative interim government, which read “We demand elections” after the ballot was pushed to Oct. 18 due to the coronavirus.The vote, a re-run of a fraught...WW…

By Slideshow LA PAZ (Reuters) - Local authorities are digging mass graves at cemeteries across Bolivia to receive a new wave of victims from COVID-19, unnerving Bolivians as the outbreak rips across the Andean nation.Bolivia has registered 35,500 cases of the virus and 1,200 deaths. Though the tally is low in comparison with neighbors Peru, Chile and Brazil, new cases have spiked in recent weeks, overwhelming the country´s fragile health care system in some areas.Cochabamba, a central Bolivian city, has been especially hard hit. Back-hoes and trucks there are opening up large pits in which...…By Slideshow LA PAZ (Reuters) - Local authorities are digging mass graves at cemeteries across Bolivia to receive a new wave of victims from COVID-19, unnerving Bolivians as the outbreak rips across the Andean nation.Bolivia has registered 35,500 cases of the virus and 1,200 deaths. Though the tally is low in comparison with neighbors Peru, Chile and Brazil, new cases have spiked in recent weeks, overwhelming the country´s fragile health care system in some areas.Cochabamba, a central Bolivian city, has been especially hard hit. Back-hoes and trucks there are opening up large pits in which...WW…

By LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian authorities on Wednesday fired the health minister and opened an investigation of potential corruption over allegations that officials bought ventilators at inflated prices, underscoring the global challenge to prevent graft in the coronavirus pandemic.Slideshow Press reports on the steep premium paid for the ventilators, bought at $27,683 each, sparked social media backlash against the Bolivian government, which received Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funds to buy the devices in May.Bolivia’s state prosecutor said in a statement on Wednesday that four...…By LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian authorities on Wednesday fired the health minister and opened an investigation of potential corruption over allegations that officials bought ventilators at inflated prices, underscoring the global challenge to prevent graft in the coronavirus pandemic.Slideshow Press reports on the steep premium paid for the ventilators, bought at $27,683 each, sparked social media backlash against the Bolivian government, which received Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funds to buy the devices in May.Bolivia’s state prosecutor said in a statement on Wednesday that four...WW…