Bolivia: Judge denies Áñez a special trial for a case during his Government

A judge Bolivian denied this Thursday to the former interim president Jeanine Añez (2019-2020) a trial of responsibilities for the case of an allegedly illegal appointment in a state company during his Government, which must now follow the ordinary route.

The determination emanated from the Third Anticorruption Court of La Paz, which declared “unfounded” the objection presented by Áñez’s defense to an initial resolution that authorized her prosecution by ordinary means and that was rectified by a Criminal Chamber last April to make way for a special trial.

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However, the Prosecutor’s Office filed a constitutional protection that was now resolved by another court that confirmed the prosecution of Áñez by ordinary means.

The accusation in this case is related to an allegedly irregular appointment made by Áñez in her interim management at the Bolivian Food Company (EBA).

In the hearing of this day, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Vice Ministry of Transparency and the lawyers of the EBA company raised arguments that questioned that the arrival of Áñez to the Presidency of the country in 2019 has been “constitutional”.

Áñez took the floor and asked the judge to act with “independence” and asserted that between November 12, 2019 and November 8, 2020 “all the world” she learned that she was the “constitutional president” and that is why she signed the appointment for which she is now being prosecuted.

Each entity in turn asked Áñez’s defense to “certify” that her arrival at the Government was legal with a declaration from the Senate or some other document and they defended that the process by ordinary means granted more rights to the accused.

Appeal

The defense of the former interim president at the end of the hearing announced that she will file an appeal.

The lawyers of Áñez and her daughter Carolina Ribera said in a press conference that denying the special trial confirms the “breach of the rule of law” in Bolivia.

“My mother is responsible for a judgment of responsibilities”, it is time for “institutionalism to be demonstrated” and the “independence of powers”, Ribera remarked.

Áñez has been imprisoned since March of last year due to the events of the 2019 political crisis that led to the resignation of then-president Evo Morales, which according to the ruling party was a “coup d’état” and that the defense maintains was a vacuum of can.

Last June, Áñez received a 10-year sentence by ordinary means for the “coup d’état II” case accused of resolutions against the Constitution and breach of duties for the way in which he placed himself in the line of presidential succession after the resignation of Evo Morales and the other authorities who followed him.

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The arguments in this case were based on the fact that Áñez, then an opposition senator, “self-proclaimed” president and did not comply with the Senate regulations by which the main position in the country should correspond to a parliamentarian of the Movement for Socialism (MAS).

He also deals with the case “coup d’état I” in which she is accused of terrorism and that still has to be settled in court.

While several unresolved accusations reside in Parliament, the most important for the death of more than twenty civilians in the so-called Sacaba and Senkata massacres in 2019.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.