Bolivian foreign policy has shifted sharply under the leadership of conservative interim President Jeanine Anez, a senator who took over amid a power vacuum when long-term leftist leader Evo Morales resigned under pressure earlier this month. On Tuesday, Anez’s foreign minister nominated Walter Oscar Serrate Cuellar as ambassador to the United States, the first such action since 2008 when diplomatic relations with Washington soured under Morales. The appointment must be approved by Congress, where Morales’ Movement to Socialism (MAS) party has a majority. Since the October election 33 people have died in violent clashes, according to Bolivia’s official human rights ombudsman, with the vast majority of those since Morales resigned and subsequently sought asylum in Mexico. (Reporting by Daniel Ramos and Monica Machicao in La Paz, Mitra Taj in Cochabamba; Writing by Adam Jourdan; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: National Post November 27, 2019 14:15 UTC