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1 1 (December 19, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govebhj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional *Research Service Bolivia: Presidential Resignation and Aftermath Updated December 19, 2019 On November 10, 2019, Bolivia's Evo Morales of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party resigned his presidency and sought asylum in Mexico. He ultimately received refugee status in Argentina. Bolivia's military had suggested Morales consider resigning to prevent violence after weeks of protests alleging fraud in the October 20, 2019, election. Three individuals in line to succeed Morales (the vice president and the presidents of the senate and the chamber of deputies) also resigned. Opposition Senator Jeanine Anez, formerly second vice president of the senate, declared herself senate president and then interim president on November 12, 2019. Bolivia's constitutional court recognized her succession. After a period of protests and state violence, the MAS-led Congress unanimously approved a law to annul the October elections, select a new electoral tribunal, and have that tribunal convene new elections. The Trump Administration and Congress have expressed concerns regarding irregularities and manipulation in Bolivia's election, violence following the election and Morales's resignation, and the expectation for the interim government to convene free and fair elections as soon as possible. October Elections Annulled Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, transformed Bolivia, but many observers expressed concerns as he sought to remain in office beyond constitutionally mandated term limits (he won elections in 2006, 2009, and 2014). In 2017, Bolivia's Constitutional Tribunal removed limits on reelection established in the 2009 constitution. The decision overruled a 2016 referendum in which voters rejected a constitutional change to allow Morales to serve another term. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports. congress.gov IN11198 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress - 's q C1 m ALL AOL