Kevin Young, assistant professor of history, appeared on the program “Democracy Now!” on Wednesday, Nov. 13 to discuss the political turmoil engulfing the South American country of Bolivia, and whether the removal of former president Evo Morales can be considered a military coup.
“A coup has a simple and straightforward definition,” Young told host Amy Goodman. “It’s the unconstitutional removal of a sitting president before that president’s term in office is up. And in the case of Bolivia, Evo Morales is the elected president. His term isn’t due up until January 21st of 2020. And in this case, on Sunday, you had the lead commander of the Bolivian Armed Forces directly intervening and ordering Evo out of office. So that’s a coup. And I think that’s pretty straightforward. That shouldn’t be controversial.”
Young was interviewed at length -- in both English as well as Spanish -- along with Pablo Solón, who served as Bolivia’s United Nations ambassador under Morales.
“What makes this coup particularly dangerous is that it is being supported by the most racist and reactionary elements in Bolivian society, as well as by the United States,” Young said. “Now, all of that being said, the overall political situation in Bolivia is complex. All of the opposition is not the same. The opposition is not monolithic. There are opposition protesters who are much more progressive. Many indigenous groups, working-class Bolivians have become very disillusioned with Evo’s government and have turned against it. So, those voices are important to recognize. We shouldn’t be painting the entire opposition with the same brush or insinuating that it’s all some conspiracy by the United States.”
Due to the length of the conversation, the interview is separated into two parts online. Part one of the discussion is available online here, with part two -- an examination of what may lie in store for the future of Bolivia -- available here.