UK's Young Labour Says Trump To Be Surprised At Amount Of Support Behind Bolivia's Morales

US President Donald Trump, who has claimed that the resignation of former Bolivian President Evo Morales signified a positive shift in democracy, might be in for a surprise as support for the exiled president at home remains unchanged, Marcus Barnett, International Officer of Young Labour, the youth wing of the UK Labour Party, told Sputnik

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2019) US President Donald Trump, who has claimed that the resignation of former Bolivian President Evo Morales signified a positive shift in democracy, might be in for a surprise as support for the exiled president at home remains unchanged, Marcus Barnett, International Officer of Young Labour, the youth wing of the UK Labour Party, told Sputnik.

"There is nothing democratic about forcing an elected government out of office at the barrel of a gun. I think that Donald Trump, triumphal as he might sound, will be surprised when the people of Bolivia rise up against what has been going on," Barnett said at the conference, titled No to the Coup in Bolivia - No More Pinochets, that took place in London on Wednesday.

According to Barnett, the Bolivian people are now at a historic crossroads with the option to either move forward into a more just society or regress back into an earlier epoch of military coups and juntas.

"My perspective is that there is a huge fight currently under way between progressive forces and deeply reaction forces across the region. You are seeing a situation where the balance of forces is very even, so it is down to the people to determine which way this goes, as in whether it will be a more egalitarian and just society, or back to the epoch of military coups and juntas of the 1970s and '80s," he added.

Speaking on how people in the United Kingdom might react to the situation, Barnett told Sputnik that UK voters had grown tired of the form of politics that involved support for undemocratic regimes or foreign interventions, claiming Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was likely to do well in the upcoming UK general election precisely due to his opposition to such practices.

"I think people in the Labour party are inspired by Jeremy Corbyn's vision of a world without war and a world that prioritizes the democracy of a majority rather than military contractors and oligarchs. I think that is a view that resonates with millions of people across Britain, who are sick of wars and illegal wars and interventions, and we'll be seeing that reflected via the ballot box on December 12th," he said.

Bolivia's Morales resigned on Sunday following allegations of vote manipulation in last month's general election. Although the former president initially appeared to have comfortably won with some 47 percent of the vote, allegations of misconduct and a report from the Organization of American States (OAS) uncovering "clear manipulation" soon led to large-scale disorder, and clashes between pro-government and opposition protesters.

As of Wednesday, the situation showed little sign of abating, with supporters of Morales continuing to protest in La Paz despite assurances from the nation's self-proclaimed interim leader, Senator Jeanine Anez, that fresh elections would be held. Morales has meanwhile continued to claim he was forced from office, stating that Anez's claiming the presidency, itself regarded by his Movement for Socialism (MAS) lawmakers as unconstitutional, amounted to a coup.