Bernie Sanders, AOC Back Bolivian Leftist Evo Morales After Resignation

2020 Democratic presidential hopeful US Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and representative A
JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images
Ben Kew

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) issued statements of support on Monday for Bolivian strongman Evo Morales, following his resignation.

Morales announced his resignation on Sunday evening after nearly 14 years in power, in what leftists have falsely branded a “coup.” Morales chose to step down after the Organization of American States (OAS) published a report revealing widespread evidence of fraud in the October 20 presidential election that granted Morales an unprecedented fourth term in power. The Bolivian military issued a statement saying suggesting that, given the OAS report, Morales should step aside and allow a free and fair election.

Many on the left were furious by his departure, including presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who declared himself “very concerned.”

“I am very concerned about what appears to be a coup in Bolivia, where the military, after weeks of political unrest, intervened to remove President Evo Morales,” Sanders wrote. “The U.S. must call for an end to violence and support Bolivia’s democratic institutions”:

Sanders did not offer any explanation for what evidence he has seen that would indicate Morales’ resignation was a “coup.”

New York Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, who supports Sanders in the 2020 Democratic Party primary, asserted that the resignation was definitively a coup in a bilingual post to Twitter.

“What’s happening right now in Bolivia isn’t democracy, it’s a coup,” she wrote. “The people of Bolivia deserve free, fair, and peaceful elections – not violent seizures of power”:

Ocasio-Cortez has not addressed the extensive evidence of fraud that the OAS found in the election that granted Morales power in her call for Bolivia to have “free, fair, and peaceful elections.”

The pair’s comments came hours after reaction from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who despite previously coming out in favor of the murderous Maduro regime in Venezuela, called on the world to “unequivocally oppose political violence” in Bolivia.

“There’s a word for the President of a country being pushed out by the military. It’s called a coup,” she wrote. “We must unequivocally oppose political violence in Bolivia. Bolivians deserve free and fair elections”:

Omar also offered no evidence that the military “pushed out” Morales.

Reaction from the Republican side was very different. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), widely considered the most influential Republican voice on issues surrounding Latin America, pointed to the fact that Morales’s re-election was unconstitutional as he had already served three terms in office.

His sentiment was echoed by President Donald Trump, who described it as a “significant moment for democracy in the Western Hemisphere.”

“After nearly 14 years and his recent attempt to override the Bolivian constitution and the will of the people, Morales’s departure preserves democracy and paves the way for the Bolivian people to have their voices heard,” Trump said in a statement.

He continued:

The United States applauds the Bolivian people for demanding freedom and the Bolivian military for abiding by its oath to protect not just a single person, but Bolivia’s constitution.

These events send a strong signal to the illegitimate regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail. We are now one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere.

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.

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