Bolivia's ex-president who oversaw bloody crackdown on protesters freed from prison

"The former interim president who oversaw a bloody crackdown on protesters in Bolivia has been freed from prison after almost five years, following a supreme court ruling that overturned her conviction for allegedly staging a coup to seize power. Jeanine Anez, 58, left the Miraflores Women's Orientation Centre in La Paz on Thursday, saying that the monster had to go for her to walk free a reference to the end of nearly two decades of rule by the leftwing Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party."

"Anez was second vice-president of the senate when, on 12 November 2019, she assumed the interim presidency two days after the resignation of then president Evo Morales of Mas and all other officials in the line of succession. That year, despite the constitution barring him from running again, Morales sought a fourth term, claiming it was a human right. A blackout during the vote count was followed by results showing him as the winner."

"This Saturday, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, the 58-year-old president-elect, is due to be sworn into office, replacing Luis Arce of Mas, whose unpopularity led him to abandon plans to seek re-election amid the country's worst economic crisis in four decades. The monster had to go for me to return to life, said Anez as she left prison, holding a Bolivian flag."

Jeanine Añez, Bolivia's former interim president, was freed after a supreme court overturned her conviction for allegedly staging a coup. She left Miraflores Women's Orientation Centre in La Paz declaring 'the monster had to go,' linking her release to the end of nearly two decades of Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) rule. Rodrigo Paz Pereira is due to be sworn in as president, replacing Luis Arce of Mas, who abandoned re-election plans amid a severe economic crisis. Añez assumed the interim presidency on 12 November 2019 after Evo Morales and other successors resigned following disputed election results and violent unrest. Her interim government postponed elections citing Covid-19 and faced protests met with brutal repression by police and the army.

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