Evo Morales arrives in Argentina seeking political asylum
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived in Argentina, Bolivia's southern neighbor, Thursday morning.
"I've come to Argentina to continue my struggle," Morales told reporters. Argentine Foreign Minister Felipe Solá confirmed he would be granted political refugee status by President Alberto Fernández, who took office Tuesday.
The former head of state arrived at Pistarini International Airport, near Buenos Aires, from Cuba this morning. Morales joins his two sons, Evaliz and Álvaro, who arrived in Buenos Aires on November 23.
He was accompanied by four other ex-government officials, including his former Vice-President Álvaro García Linera, former Health Minister Gabriela Montaño, former Foreign Minister Diego Pary, and Bolivia's former Ambassador to the OAS José Alberto Gonzales.
Morales, according to Foreign Minister Solá, had "requested asylum at the time" of his November 10 ouster - but former Argentine President Mauricio Macri "did not grant it."
Mexican President Andrés López Obrador granted it instead, and Morales attributed his intervention and that of then President-elect Fernández for "saving my life."
Fernández, who defeated Macri amid an economic crisis, has said he considers Morales' removal from office "a coup d'état."
Morales' self-proclaimed successor, Jeanine Áñez, has ruled by decree and overseen a wave of police violence against protesters and other human rights abuses.
Morales has called for new elections, which Áñez has agreed to - but has repeatedly postponed.
At: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/evo-morales-has-landed-in-argentina-confirms-foreign-ministry.phtml
Deposed Bolivian President Evo Morales and Argentine President Alberto Fernández during the latter's presidential campaign this August.
Fernández, who took office Tuesday, has been one of the region's most prominent critics of the violent, November 10 coup in Bolivia.
"It would be an honor for Argentina to have Morales and Álvaro García Linera," he said.
