BETWEEN UNIFORMS AND COUPS: The rise of Jeanine Áñez to the presidency of Bolivia and the actions of the military according to the sentence do Tribunal de Sentencia Anticorrupción Primero de La Capital.
Armed Forces; Bolivia; Constitutional rupture; Coup d'état; Disinformation; Religion; Resolution no. 12/2022;
The Bolivian context in 2019 was marked by a crisis of instability and interference that led to Morales' resignation under allegations of a coup d'état. Subsequently, Jeanine Áñez's rise to the presidency, along with military involvement, led to convictions for the actions described in Resolution No. 12/2022, which were deemed unconstitutional during the 2019 crisis. Therefore, the question this thesis seeks to answer is: do the concerted actions of state agents that facilitated Jeanine Áñez's rise to the presidency in 2019, particularly in light of Resolution No. 12/2022 of the Tribunal de Sentencia Anticorrupción Primero de la Capital, fit the concept of a coup d'état? To address the proposed questions, the research formulates two hypotheses: the first asserts that the facts outlined in Resolution No. 12/2022 of the Tribunal de Sentencia Anticorrupción Primero de la Capital constitute a coup d'état, rooted in colonial practices of power; the second contends that these events do not fall under this concept, as Áñez assumed office to fill a power vacuum and prevent an institutional collapse amid a political crisis. In order to achieve its objectives, the research adopts a critical approach, employing qualitative methodology, with the main tool being the analysis of Resolution No. 12/2022, as well as data and news collection, in addition to the analysis of legal and official documents. Furthermore, the theoretical framework of this research is based on the works of Xavier Albó, Antônio Carlos Wolkmer, and Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, as well as Marcelo Neves and Jorge Zaverucha, to analyze the causes of a coup d'état. Therefore, in achieving the research objectives, it can be concluded that the facts and context narrated in Resolution No. 12/2022 demonstrate that Áñez’s rise to power occurred outside the constitutional framework. Moreover, it was instrumentalized through religion and disinformation, with the interference of the Armed Forces in the state's disruption, thus constituting a coup d'état."