Since the government lost February’s referendum on abolishing presidential term limits, it has placed most of the blame on mis-information that spread like wildfire on social media.
At a press conference following the result, President Evo Morales was incandescent with rage over the ‘’lies’’ that were being shared and documented about his private life on an almost hourly basis.
The president initially blamed the opposition for fuelling the rumors and in the months following the defeat there’s still lingering resentment about how the referendum unfolded during the last weeks of campaigning.
The 'No' won with 51.30 percent against 48.70 percent for the 'Yes' side.
The government now has a new target in its sight and is openly blaming the United States for aiding the opposition in waging the so-called ‘’dirty war’’ on social media.
‘’The U.S. sent 12 social media experts to help the no campaign’’ Morales said at an event last week in the city of Santa Cruz. ‘’They defeated us via social networks and we were not prepared’’ he admitted.
The President stopped short of revealing the source of his information but assured the public that the government is still gathering information to establish the facts.
It’s not the first time the U.S. has been accused of unduly interfering and influencing the referendum campaign. In the run up to the vote, government ministers claimed the U.S. was also funding the opposition "No" campaign.
In a statement issued to teleSUR the American embassy in La Paz said ‘’The United States had no role of any kind in the February 21 referendum campaign in Bolivia.”
At a diplomatic function late last year, President Evo Morales indicated that he was open to the possibility of reinstating the American ambassador to Bolivia.
The comments caught political observers off guard.
The last American ambassador, Philip S. Goldberg, was ordered to leave the country in 2008. President Morales accused him of supporting anti-government groups in the east of the country at a time of growing unrest in the Andean country.
Eight years later political observers mused: Could there really be a thawing in relations between the two nations?
The answer appears to be a resounding No. Morales’ latest comments have dashed any hopes of immediate talks between Washington and La Paz.
However, the U.S. still remains open to improving bilateral relations with Bolivia but there's been no progress since the start of the year.
“That desire remains,’’ says the U.S. embassy in La Paz. ‘’Like the Bolivian government, we would like the relationship to be based on mutual interests and mutual respect,” a spokesperson told teleSUR.
But after years of suspicion and distrust from the Bolivian government there may be a long wait yet before we see a fully functioning relationship between the two countries.
Newsletter
