Statement by Ambassador Luz Elena Baños Rivas, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the OAS
At the extraordinary session of the Permanent Council on the situation in Bolivia
Washington, D.C.,
November 12, 2019
Thank you very much, Madam President,
Mexico appreciates the convening of this extraordinary session, which my government urgently requested. The situation that summons us today is extremely complex and requires our most serious and objective analysis.
Mexico expresses its serious concern at the serious breach of the constitutional order in Bolivia, a State member of this Organization where a coup d’état has taken place, which Mexico strongly condemns. The member States of the OAS have a high responsibility to accompany Bolivia at this time of deep crisis, and we must do so in an objective, responsible and respectful manner of its sovereignty and self-determination, without the temptation to intervene. Gone must be the dark and painful days when the armed forces deposed and supported governments.
My Government expresses its deep dismay at the recent events in Bolivia. Following the release of this Organization’s preliminary report on the recent audit of the electoral process in Bolivia, then-President Evo Morales proposed that new elections be held. After that, the Bolivian army asked for the resignation of the president, who decided to present it in order to avoid the violence of a destructive civil war. We consider that the pressures that Evo Morales received from the country’s armed forces and security forces constitute elements of a coup scenario, which Mexico categorically rejects.
Mexico claims and demands respect for the constitutional order and democracy in Bolivia. Let us remember that, according to the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the constitutional subordination of all State institutions to the legally constituted civil authority and respect for the rule of law of all entities and sectors of society are fundamental to democracy.
Former President Morales resigned in order to pacify his country and put an end to the violence that had been increasing in recent days, violence that unfortunately has not yet ceased. A difficult decision for a president who worked hard to bring social justice to his country, especially in favor of the most vulnerable people, indigenous people like him, and achieved significant economic growth above the rest of the region, an undeniable issue.
Mexico respects that decision and we hope that it will prevent the continuation of confrontation and violence and guarantee the effective right of the Bolivian people to peace and the exercise of their democracy. In this forum, we reiterate our rejection of violence. Greater damage and possible loss of human life must be avoided.
The brotherly people of Bolivia, after long days of uncertainty and agitation, are now facing a complex political transition. Mexico hopes that this transition, above all else, will take place in a peaceful, democratic manner and with full respect for legality and constitutional order.
(ES) Madam President,
Mexico deplores the attacks against diplomatic representations, in this case in Bolivia. We stress the inviolability of these missions, in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and remind the authorities of their obligation to protect the premises of these missions against any intrusion or damage, preventing their work from being disrupted or their dignity compromised. This obligation is based on reciprocity and minimum trust among States, since it is the basis for the friendly construction of relations between the countries of the hemisphere and the world.
As our Chancellor announced, Mexico, in accordance with its tradition of asylum and non-intervention, has received a group of people from the Bolivian executive and legislative branches at its diplomatic headquarters in La Paz. Similarly, my government decided sovereignly to grant political asylum to former President Evo Morales, whose life and security were at risk from the violence against him. A few hours ago, after a very hazardous journey, the former President arrived in Mexico, accompanied by former Vice President Álvaro García Linera and former Health Minister Gabriela Montaño.
In taking this decision, we have proceeded primarily on humanitarian grounds, in accordance with international law and our own constitutional framework, as provided for in our domestic laws and international commitments. We act in congruence with our proud diplomatic tradition of supporting and protecting the politically persecuted around the world. From Garibaldi, Martí and Haya de la Torre, to Rigoberta Menchú, Gabriel García Márquez and Hortencia Bussi, widow of Salvador Allende, and their daughters, Isabel and Beatriz; the institution of diplomatic asylum is a unique and endearing figure in Mexican diplomatic history that today is reaffirmed for humanitarian reasons and for the protection of Bolivians. In this tradition, my country received thousands of politically persecuted people of different nationalities: Spaniards – hundreds of children, among them – Germans, Czechs, Argentines, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Panamanians, Paraguayans, Colombians, Hondurans, Brazilians, Chileans, Uruguayans, Peruvians and Bolivians, among many others, including, recently, people of Venezuelan – opposition – and Ecuadorian nationality.
Thousands of them stayed to live in Mexico until the end of their days, adopting it as their second homeland. Their presence has nurtured us, enriched our multiculturalism and our institutions, particularly academic and scientific research, have made us stronger with their convictions and their broad social and scientific knowledge and with their outstanding creative and artistic talent. Finally, his presence has brought us fraternally closer to the reality and culture of his countries and to his personal trajectories and we feel very fortunate for that.
Madam President,
International law is emphatic in referring to the granting of diplomatic asylum as a prerogative of the asylum-seeking State. Aware that this involves the life and well-being of many families, Mexico reaffirms that, in addition to this prerogative, we also have an unavoidable obligation based on our history: to provide protection to persons who request it because they feel threatened, as established by the Inter-American Convention on Diplomatic Asylum and the Montevideo Convention on Political Asylum.
Allow me here to make an appeal from the OAS to prevent persecution and violence and to enforce international and inter-American conventions to protect the integrity and lives of individuals. Mexico reiterates that human life must take precedence over political circumstances.
Madam President,
We also want to establish our firm commitment to democracy. Mexico fully appreciates the confidence placed at the time in our Government to accompany Bolivia, together with other nations, in the assessment of its democratic process. For that reason, Mexico underscores the self-determination of the Bolivian people to elect its next government, while calling on the membership and the Organization to conduct its actions with prudence, with respect for the constitutional framework and on the basis of the principle of non-intervention and the self-determination of peoples.
In accordance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, democracy is essential for the social, political and economic development of the peoples of the Americas. The effective exercise of representative democracy is the foundation of the rule of law and the constitutional regimes of the OAS member states. For this reason, Mexico reiterates that the priority at this time is to respect the will of the Bolivian people, which must be manifested and exercised through constitutional and peaceful channels.
We wish to recall that Bolivia, in the full exercise of its sovereignty, has placed its trust in the OAS. That is why Mexico requests that this be considered as a minimum budget for any opinion issued by this Permanent Council on the Bolivian situation.
In this regard, allow me to remind the membership that the norms that regulate our mutual behaviour are the cornerstone for political dialogue among member States. Without that condition, the region will face greater challenges in maintaining political dialogue and respect for international law as basic elements of relations among States.
I cannot fail to express my Government’s surprise at the fact that, in the face of the serious events that took place on Sunday, 10 November, which undoubtedly constitute a breach of the constitutional order that plunges Bolivia into uncertainty, the OAS General Secretariat only issued a brief communiqué on Monday.
The Secretary General, who is constantly and unusually active in the media, has also remained surprisingly silent, with the exception of the brief communiqué of November 10, in the face of the overflow of violence and the danger to the lives of many people, without being too worried, at least publicly, to urgently protect democracy and human rights. We ask ourselves, what are their priorities, what are their concerns, what are their responsibilities and their urgencies?
It seems to us that, in the face of events of such magnitude, the pronouncements of this Organization should be much more timely and forceful – as indeed they are when they refer to other situations, for example, in the case of the communiqué of 21 October, which set a defining precedent in the elections of 20 October – and focused on the preservation of peace and legality. I would also reiterate what we have said on previous occasions, namely that the statements of the General Secretariat do not represent the position of the Member States, although they are important.
Allow me at the same time to acknowledge the communiqué issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights yesterday, almost the only voice of the organization.
Madam President
Mexico expresses its confidence in the sovereignty of the Bolivian people to constitute a government in accordance with its constitutional framework. We make a strong call to cease all forms of violence and to recover the dialogue between the Bolivian brothers.
We hope that political dialogue will be strengthened in Bolivia and open the way for an integral, transparent and constructive transition. That it seeks to reconcile and not separate, that it recognizes and preserves the social advances achieved in this beloved country in order to strengthen an inclusive democracy and also a sustainable democracy, on the basis of the achievements made by the most unprotected sectors.
Thank you very much, Madam President.
