Bolivian president flees to Mexico: Evo Morales holds up Mexican flag on board air force jet as he flies to the country after they offered him asylum when he was forced to quit

  • Evo Morales was spirited out of Bolivia last night after Mexico granted asylum
  • The socialist leader had feared arrest after his abrupt resignation as President 
  • Morales quit under pressure from the military after weeks of protests in Bolivia 

Bolivia's former leader Evo Morales has fled to Mexico, leaving behind a country in turmoil after his resignation two days ago. 

Morales posed with a Mexican flag as he was spirited away into exile on an air force jet last night. 

'His life and integrity are safe,' Mexico's foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard announced as he revealed the plane had taken off.

Mexico had yesterday offered asylum to the socialist leader amid fears he would be arrested following his abrupt resignation. The 60-year-old stepped down under pressure from the military after weeks of protests over a disputed election result. 

Television footage showed his plane touching down on Tuesday morning in Mexico.

Into exile: Bolivia's former President Evo Morales holds up a Mexican flag aboard a Mexican air force jet as he leaves his country last night

Into exile: Bolivia's former President Evo Morales holds up a Mexican flag aboard a Mexican air force jet as he leaves his country last night 

Television footage showed his plane touching down on Tuesday morning in Mexico

Television footage showed his plane touching down on Tuesday morning in Mexico

Celebrations: A police officer holds up a crucifix as he joins some of his flag-waving colleagues in La Paz to rejoice at the resignation of Evo Morales

Celebrations: A police officer holds up a crucifix as he joins some of his flag-waving colleagues in La Paz to rejoice at the resignation of Evo Morales 

Clashes: A man with a bloodied face is detained by security forces during clashes between Morales's supporters and opponents in La Paz yesterday

Clashes: A man with a bloodied face is detained by security forces during clashes between Morales's supporters and opponents in La Paz yesterday 

Who is former Bolivian leader Evo Morales? 

Evo Morales was Latin America's longest-serving president until he resigned on Sunday. 

A member of the Aymara people, he grew up in poverty on Bolivia's high plains and was a llama herder, coca farmer and leftist union leader before rising to take office as his country's first indigenous president. 

Morales was one of the last of the wave of leftist leaders who swept to power in the region in the early 2000s.

Under his rule, Bolivia made landmark gains against hunger and poverty.

Bolivia's economy has more than tripled in size during his 13 years in office.

The country's poverty rate has decreased from 45 per cent of the population in 2010 to 35 per cent in 2018, according to the World Bank. 

However, opponents accused him of tolerating corruption and investing in flashy infrastructure projects at the expense of health and education.

A case in point was his decision last year to move the government headquarters into a luxurious skyscraper in La Paz. 

Environmentalists also blame him for wildfires that destroyed 10million acres of forest and grassland. 

A fierce critic of the United States, Morales was a staunch ally of leftist governments in Cuba and Venezuela. 

After running out of terms, Morales tried to amend Bolivia's constitution to run for a fourth time.

He lost that referendum but pressed on regardless, persuading the country's highest court to allow him to run again. 

Opponents say the court is packed with his allies and accused him of striking a 'blow to democracy'. 

His election win last month had been set to keep him in power until 2025 but protests have now prevented him from taking on the fourth term. 

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'It pains me to leave the country for political reasons, but I will always be watching. I will be back soon with more strength and energy,' Morales said on Twitter.  

Back in Bolivia, the military which helped to oust Morales has agreed to help police secure the streets. 

Looting broke out in the wake of Morales's resignation and civilians scuffled with the former President's supporters in La Paz on Monday.  

The crisis deepened yesterday as gangs unhappy with Morales's departure attacked police stations and civilians, causing panic in the streets.

On Monday night hundreds of Morales supporters who traveled to La Paz from nearby El Alto protested outside the presidential palace.  

Police have largely been confined to barracks since rioting broke out and have asked the army to step in.  

'The military command of the armed forces has arranged for joint operations with the police to prevent bloodshed and fighting amongst the Bolivian family,' said chief General Williams Kaliman in a televised address.

Britain's Foreign Office has already warned against 'all but essential travel' to Bolivia, saying the situation was 'very uncertain'.  

Three people have died in clashes since the disputed election. 

An opposition senator, Jeanine Anez, is set to succeed Morales as interim President and has pledged to call new elections. 

Lawmakers are due to meet on Tuesday to begin the process. 

Dozens of ministers and officials resigned along with Morales, many of them taking refuge in foreign embassies.  

Morales also claimed last night that two of his homes had been attacked by 'vandalism groups.'

Opposition leader Carlos Mesa also claimed that 'a violent mob' was heading for his home to attack it.   

Morales said his opposition rivals, Mesa and Luis Fernando Camacho, 'will go down in history as racists and coup plotters.

Celebrations: A huge crowd waving Bolivian flags occupy a road in the wake of Morales's resignation, which was prompted by weeks of protests over a disputed election last month

Celebrations: A huge crowd waving Bolivian flags occupy a road in the wake of Morales's resignation, which was prompted by weeks of protests over a disputed election last month 

Three nuns hold Bolivian flags in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, eastern Bolivia, following the President's resignation on Sunday

Three nuns hold Bolivian flags in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, eastern Bolivia, following the President's resignation on Sunday 

The decline of the 'pink tide' of left-wing leaders in Latin America 

Evo Morales was among a wave of left-wing leaders who came to office in Latin America in the early 2000s. 

In what was labelled a 'pink tide', voters turned their backs on right-wing governments that the US had backed in the Cold War, and elected a host of socialist leaders including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Brazil's Lula. 

The left-wing surge, which coincided with a lengthy commodities boom, refashioned state institutions in Latin America and polarised domestic politics. 

However, 15 years later the left is at a low ebb on the continent. 

Morales has gone, Lula has spent the last 18 months in prison, Chavez is dead and his successor Nicolas Maduro is struggling to keep power.   

Many of the left-wing governments crumbled after the end of the commodities boom brought on a recession. 

Venezuela is in the midst of economic collapse and has suffered from severe food and medicine shortages and rampant inflation. 

In addition, there is still widespread anger at inequality in much of South America. 

Last year Brazil lurched in the opposite direction to elect far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro.   

However, Argentina recently bucked the trend by electing a left-wing leader, with former socialist figurehead Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as vice-president.  

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A former coca farmer, Morales was the country's first indigenous President and came to power in 2006 amid a wave of left-wing triumphs on the continent.  

Donald Trump hailed Morales's resignation as a 'significant moment for democracy in the Western Hemisphere,' and praised the role of the country's military.

'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,' Trump said.

Many Bolivians celebrated in the streets with fireworks and honking horns after Morales's resignation. 

'We are celebrating that Bolivia is free,' said one demonstrator near the presidential palace in La Paz.  

However, others saw 60-year-old Morales's downfall as a return to the bleak era of military coups that long dominated Latin America. 

The socialist leaders of Venezuela and Cuba have already condemned what they called a coup, while their mutual ally Russia accused the opposition of unleashing violence to bring Morales down. 

Morales defended his legacy on Sunday, which includes landmark gains against hunger and poverty and tripling the country's economy during his nearly 14 years in office.

He gained a controversial fourth term when he was declared the winner of the presidential election by a narrow margin.

But the opposition cried foul and three weeks of street protests ensued, during which three people died and hundreds were injured.

An OAS audit of the election found irregularities in just about every aspect that it examined.

Morales called new elections but commanders of the armed forces and police backed calls for his resignation.

Some of his allies who resigned, including the lower house speaker and mining minister Cesar Navarro, cited fear for the safety of their families as the reason for stepping down. 

Why did Evo Morales resign and what will happen next in Bolivia? 

How did it come to this?

Evo Morales was set for a fourth term as Bolivian President, which would have kept him in office until 2025, when he was declared the winner of October's election. 

However, there were widespread claims of fraud, triggering protests in which three people died and hundreds were injured. 

The Organization of American States found irregularities in just about every aspect it investigated: the technology used, the chain of custody of ballots, the integrity of the count, and statistical projections. 

Bolivia's military urged Morales to resign and he finally did so on Sunday in a televised address. 

What is the reaction in Bolivia?

There was jubilation among opponents of Morales who waved the Bolivian flag in La Paz in the wake of his resignation. 

Many Bolivians celebrated in the streets by letting off fireworks and honking their car horns. 

The President's critics said he had undermined democracy in Bolivia by overcoming term limits to run again and claiming victory in a disputed poll. 

However, others including Morales himself saw it as a return to the bleak era of coups overseen by Latin American militaries. 

Spain and Mexico, as well as Morales's socialist allies in Cuba and Venezuela, have already voiced concern about the nature of his downfall. 

What will happen next? 

Jeanine Anez, the second vice-president of the Senate, has said she will assume the interim presidency with the intention of calling new elections.

Everyone else in the line of succession had already resigned or left office along with Morales on Sunday. 

Morales himself was spirited away to Mexico on Monday night after being offered asylum there.  

The Spanish government said holding fresh elections 'as soon as possible' would be the best way 'to get out of the current crisis'. 

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