{"id":147569,"date":"2019-11-18T12:00:52","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=147569"},"modified":"2019-12-25T11:09:18","modified_gmt":"2019-12-25T11:09:18","slug":"bolivia-coup-led-by-christian-fascist-paramilitary-leader-and-millionaire-with-foreign-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/11\/bolivia-coup-led-by-christian-fascist-paramilitary-leader-and-millionaire-with-foreign-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolivia Coup Led by Christian Fascist Paramilitary Leader and Millionaire–with Foreign Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

11 Nov 2019 – Bolivian coup leader Luis Fernando Camacho is a far-right multi-millionaire who arose from fascist movements in the Santa Cruz region, where the US has encouraged separatism. He has courted support from Colombia, Brazil, and the Venezuelan opposition.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When Luis Fernando Camacho stormed into Bolivia\u2019s abandoned presidential palace in the hours after President Evo Morales\u2019s sudden November 10 resignation, he revealed to the world a side of the country that stood at stark odds with the plurinational spirit its deposed socialist and Indigenous leader had put forward.<\/p>\n

With a Bible in one hand and a national flag in the other, Camacho bowed his head in prayer above the presidential seal, fulfilling his vow to purge his country\u2019s Native heritage from government and \u201creturn God to the burned palace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPachamama will never return to the palace,\u201d he said, referring to the Andean Mother Earth spirit. \u201cBolivia belongs to Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Far-right Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho in Bolivia\u2019s presidential palace with a Bible, after the coup<\/p><\/div>\n

Bolivia\u2019s extreme right-wing opposition had overthrown leftist President Evo Morales that day, following demands by the country\u2019s military leadership that he step down.<\/p>\n

Virtually unknown outside his country, where he had never won a democratic election, Camacho stepped into the void. He is a powerful multi-millionaire named in the Panama Papers, and an ultra-conservative Christian fundamentalist groomed by a fascist paramilitary notorious for its racist violence, with a base in Bolivia\u2019s wealthy separatist region of Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n

Camacho hails from a family of corporate elites who have long profited from Bolivia\u2019s plentiful natural gas reserves. And his family lost part of its wealth when Morales nationalized the country\u2019s resources, in order to fund his vast social programs \u2014 which cut poverty<\/a> by 42 percent and extreme poverty by 60 percent.<\/p>\n

In the lead-up to the coup, Camacho met with leaders from right-wing governments in the region to discuss their plans to destabilize Morales. Two months before the putsch, he tweeted<\/a> gratitude: \u201cThank you Colombia! Thank you Venezuela!\u201d he exclaimed, tipping his hat to Juan Guaido\u2019s coup operation<\/a>. He also recognized the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro, declaring, \u201cThank you Brazil!\u201d<\/p>\n

Camacho had spent years leading an overtly fascist separatist organization called the Uni\u00f3n Juvenil Cruce\u00f1ista. The Grayzone edited the following clips from a promotional historical documentary that the group posted on its own social media accounts<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

The rich oligarch leader of Bolivia's right-wing coup, Luis Fernando Camacho, was the leader of an explicitly fascist paramilitary group.<\/p>\n

Here are some clips from a promotional historical documentary it published:https:\/\/t.co\/gFMyfjsi2p<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/XXNQfhD7ii<\/a><\/p>\n

— The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews) November 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n