In another move that indicates further problems south of the Border, the government of Mexico offered asylum status to former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales. Mr. Morales sought asylum in a foreign country due to a rapid change in his legal status in his home country. After 3 weeks of violent protests in the streets of his country, he decided to call it quits. He and his supporters claimed a victory in the recent presidential elections. After significant findings that the election was rigged, people took to the streets. Then when asked for support by Mr. Morales, his military leaders claimed neutrality. His goose was cooked. Time to go, somewhere, anywhere. And his friends in Mexico offered him a resting roost, at least for awhile.
Now the fun begins in Bolivia: what next? Who will be the next leader of this poor country without a coastline on a continent with long, long coastlines? An emerging leader has not been identified. Some folks expect the Kremlin to get involved here; or even worse: the Chinese P.L.A. might show up on the doorstep and start throwing money around to grab a little influence, easy to do down South.
The Lefty ex-leader of Brasile, Ignacio Lula de Silva was just released from prison over the weekend. He needs a job. Argentina probably won't offer anything, and besides, he has a court appearance soon on his appeal. The 74 year old claims lots of support at home, but not much in Bolivia. So, poor Bolivia joins most of the rest of Latin America as locations of political upheaval and dissent. We'll keep our eyes open on things Bolivian this week.
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