A senator proclaimed herself Bolivia’s interim president Tuesday in an effort to fill the power vacuum left by the abrupt resignation of Evo Morales, who immediately condemned the move as a “sneaky coup.”
Lawmakers had been summoned to formalize the resignation and confirm Deputy Senate speaker Jeanine Anez as interim president.
According to an AFP report, Anez declared herself interim president when the session failed to reach a quorum of lawmakers, many staying away amid blockades and continuing protests by Morales supporters.
The constitutional court later endorsed her appointment.
Later, clutching a bible and wearing the presidential sash over her black jacket, the senator addressed supporters from the balcony of the government palace.
Anez said earlier she was confident that enough senators would reach the senate to form a quorum — 19 of the 36 were needed to do so.
Tweeting from exile in Mexico, Morales immediately condemned what he called “the sneakiest, most nefarious coup in history.”
Morales called Anez “a coup-mongering right-wing senator” and said she had “declared herself… Interim president without a legislative quorum, surrounded by a group of accomplices.”
