Bolivia's Morales: Post-vote strike amounts to ‘coup’

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales says a general strike staged by the opposition amounts to a right-wing coup in the wake of the presidential election where the electoral commission has said he has the lead.

"A coup is under way. I want the people of Bolivia to know. Until now, humbly, we have put up with it in order to avoid violence and we have not entered into confrontation," Morales said at a press conference on Wednesday, referring to the strike and violent protests that took place after the election.

In his first public remarks since the election, Morales also said he will adopt measures to "defend" democracy and is confident he will be declared the winner of Sunday's election with no need for a runoff.

Violent protests erupted after the electoral commission released new data on Monday that gave the win to Morales. On Sunday night, partial results suggested that the election was going to a second round for the first time in over a decade.

Opponents have accused authorities of rigging the votes and called for a strike.

Representatives of civil society organizations from the country's six regions supported a call to extend a strike originally set for Tuesday in the city of Santa Cruz.

According to the organizations, the general strike went into effect at midnight Tuesday and will “continue until democracy and the will of the citizens are respected.”

Meanwhile, an umbrella organization of pro-Morales labor and farmers' unions, CONALCAM, urged its members to stage demonstrations in support of the official results.

SS