Bolivia: Añez, the incarcerated ex-president, on life support

Former interim president of Bolivia Jeanine Añez, accused of carrying out a coup against her predecessor Evo Morales and incarcerated, is on life support after suffering from decompensation, her lawyer said on Wednesday (March 17th).

Jeanine Añez was

after a rise in blood pressure, and

her lawyer, Norka Cuellar, told the local press.

Read also: Bolivia is in turmoil again

The authorities of La Paz prison where the former president is, however, then assured that she was in stable condition and under medical supervision.

Jeanine Añez was remanded in custody for four months and held in a women's prison in the capital on Sunday by a judge.

She had been arrested the day before, like two of her former ministers, as part of an arrest warrant following a complaint for

,

and

filed by a former member of the MAS, the party of his predecessor Evo Morales.

In November 2019, then conservative second vice-president of the Senate, Jeanine Añez was sworn in as interim president two days after Evo Morales resigned.

He had been pushed there by an uprising, after being proclaimed winner of the presidential election where he was running for a fourth term but accused of fraud by the opposition.

Read also: The triumphant return of Evo Morales to Bolivia

After a campaign of demonstrations during which at least 35 people were killed, Evo Morales, released by the police and the army, resigned and took refuge in Mexico and then in Argentina.

He returned to Bolivia after the election to the presidency of his dolphin Luis Arce in October 2020. Evo Morales, who called

Jeanine Añez's interim power a

, claims that those responsible for the

of November 2019 are

.

The arrest of Jeanine Añez, who claims to be the victim of

, has aroused many reactions since Saturday in Bolivia, including demonstrations, and abroad.