Professor Kevin Young discusses Evo Morales’ resignation and the ongoing political crisis in Bolivia with the independent news program Democracy Now!. Young argues that Morales’ resignation in the face of military pressure was indeed a coup.
“This coup is being supported by the most racist and reactionary elements in Bolivian society, as well as by the United States. That said, the overall political situation in Bolivia is complex. All of the opposition is not the same. Many indigenous groups and working-class Bolivians have become disillusioned with Evo’s government and have turned against it. So it’s a complex situation, and it’s a coup with some popular support, but it’s still a coup. It’s also important to recognize that almost half of the Bolivian population, and probably the majority of the indigenous population, still voted for Evo Morales on October 20th.”
Young is assistant professor of history at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the author of Blood of the Earth: Resource Nationalism, Revolution, and Empire in Bolivia and editor of Making the Revolution: Histories of the Latin American Left.
To see the full interview, including a transcript and a Spanish-language version, click here