Renewed clashes rocked Bolivia’s capital Wednesday as the woman who claimed the presidency, a second-tier lawmaker thrust into the post because of a power vacuum, faced challenges to her leadership from supporters of the ousted Evo Morales. A day after Jeanine Anez assumed power , violent clashes broke out between rock-throwing Morales’ backers and police in riot gear, who fired volleys of tear gas to disperse the large crowd of protesters as fighter jets flew low overhead in a show of force. Opposition was also building in Congress, where lawmakers loyal to Morales were mounting a challenge to Anez’s legitimacy by trying to hold new sessions that would undermine her claim to the presidency. The sessions – dismissed as invalid by Anez’s faction – added to the political uncertainty following the resignation of Morales, the nation’s first indigenous leader, after nearly 14 years in power. In the streets, angry demonstrators tore off corrugated sheets of metal and wooden planks from construction sites to use as weapons, and some set off sticks of dynamite. Many flooded the streets of the capital and its sister city of El Alto, a Morales stronghold, waving the multicoloured indigenous flag and chanting: “Now, civil war!” “We don’t want any dictators. This lady has stepped on us – that’s why we’re so mad," said Paulina Luchampe. “We’re going to fight with our brothers and sisters until Evo Morales is back. We ask for his return. He needs to put the house in order." The 60-year-old Morales, who arrived in Mexico on Tuesday under a grant of asylum, has vowed to remain active in politics and said he would return to Bolivia. According to the constitution, an interim president has 90 days to organise an election, and the disputed accession of Anez, who until Tuesday was second vice-president of the Senate, was an example of the long list of obstacles she faces. Mexico grants asylum to Bolivia’s ex-leader Evo Morales whose ‘life was at risk’ Morales’ backers, who hold a two-thirds majority in Congress, boycotted the session she called Tuesday night to formalise her claim to the presidency, preventing a quorum. She claimed power anyway, saying the constitution did not specifically require congressional approval. “My commitment is to return democracy and tranquillity to the country,” she said. “They can never again steal our vote.” Bolivia’s top constitutional court issued a statement late Tuesday laying out the legal justification for Anez taking the presidency – without mentioning her by name. But other legal experts challenged the legal technicalities that led to her claim, saying at least some of the steps required Congress to meet. The lingering questions could affect her ability to govern. She will need to form a new electoral court, find non-partisan staff for the electoral tribunal and get Congress, which is controlled by Morales’ Movement for Socialism Party, to vote on a new election. Morales resigned Sunday following weeks of violent protests fed by allegations of electoral fraud in the October 20 election, which he claimed to have won. An Organisation of American States audit reported widespread irregularities in the vote count and called for a new election. Bolivia’s president claims victory in disputed election, denounces foreign-backed ‘coup’ attempt But his resignation came only after General Williams Kaliman, the armed forces commander, urged him to step down “for the good of Bolivia” – a move that Morales and his backers have branded a coup. Ten people have died since the protests began, Bolivia’s prosecutor office said Wednesday. Michael Kozak of the US State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs welcomed her as “interim constitutional president,” saying on Twitter: “We look forward to working with her & Bolivia’s other civilian authorities as they arrange free & fair elections as soon as possible, in accordance w/ Bolivia’s constitution.” Brazil, which is one of Bolivia’s top trading partners, also congratulated her on her “constitutional” assumption of the presidency and her determination to work for peace and hold elections soon. Colombia and Guatemala also recognised her as interim president. While Argentine President Mauricio Macri had not commented on the issue, Argentine lawmakers in both houses of Congress condemned what they called a coup.
