Mass protests in Bolivia over ex-president’s arrest

Tens of thousands of Bolivians answered an opposition call Monday for protests against the arrest and detention of former president Jeanine Anez on charges of leading a coup d'etat against her socialist predecessor Evo Morales.

Conservative Anez, 53, was placed in pre-trial detention Sunday after she was arrested on charges of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy.

"It wasn't a coup. It was a fraud," read a banner held by one of the protesters who defied the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic to attend marches, sit-ins in front of prosecutor's offices and peaceful gatherings in the capital La Paz and in the cities of Cochabamba, Sucre, Trinidad and Santa Cruz.

In Santa Cruz, the country's economic capital, some 40,000 people assembled in the Christ the Redeemer Square, which has only been the site of right-wing demonstrations in the past.

The arrest brought a rebuke from the Organization of American States (OAS), which on Monday expressed "concern about the abuse of legal mechanisms that once again have been transformed into instruments of repression by the governing party."

"The Bolivian judicial system is not in a position to provide the minimum guarantees of a fair trial," the office of OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said in a statement.