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Morales: "We are still first in the polls" 2:02
(CNN Spanish) - Bolivia's Minister of Justice, Álvaro Eduardo Coimbra Cornejo, announced Monday that the current government will initiate criminal proceedings against former president Evo Morales after he suggested that the country should organize “armed militias of the people” such as Venezuela .
“If he is considering carrying out this illegal, unconstitutional creation and outside any norm of armed militia, he has to come to the country and realize that why he wants to go against the Constitution, go against the current penal code, go against of Bolivian security, ”Coimbra told a press conference from La Paz.
"Nobody, no one, no matter how political leader, no one, no matter how referent he may have been or is, has the right to come or try by any means to destroy the peace and tranquility that Bolivians have," the minister added.
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In an event with the community of Bolivia in Buenos Aires on Saturday, Morales recounted the acts of violence during the protests against him for allegations of electoral fraud, and said that “if from here a short time, I don't know, if I would come back, or someone come back, we must organize, as in Venezuela, armed militias of the people ”.
Morales added that “since November 5, 6 (November) began to burn houses of assembly members, trade union leaders of the process of change, of our ministers at that time, relatives, houses of governors, many governors, many mayors, some forced to give up on these facts. ”
CNN tried unsuccessfully to contact Morales' press team to obtain more details about his statements.
In Venezuela, the Bolivarian National Militia was founded in April 2009 by the government of the late President Hugo Chávez.
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It is a secondary defense body "destined to complement" the Bolivarian National Armed Forces of Venezuela and is made up of volunteer civilians, according to the website of the Venezuelan Presidency.
Although they receive military training, the MNB is not part of the 4 essential components of the FANB (Aviation, Navy, Army and National Guard).
The commentary on the armed militias was immediately rejected by the interim president of Bolivia.
“Morales's statements only show that peace, reconciliation and democracy were never options for him. Given the intention of sowing terror and violence, they will only find the Bolivian people united, and in the face of threats, our deepest democratic vocation, ”tweeted Jeanine Áñez on Sunday.
Morales resigned from the presidency of Bolivia on November 10 after intense protests over allegations of electoral fraud in the presidential elections that gave him the winner for his fourth term and after the military asked him to resign.
Currently, it is required by the Bolivian authorities to respond to charges of sedition, terrorism and terrorist financing.
With information from Gloria Carrasco and Jorge Luis Pérez Valery of CNN
ArgentinaEvo Morales