DAVE CALFE, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ trade union, writes exclusively for the Morning Star as the union’s five-day annual conference opens in Birmingham
WE recently marked six months since the military coup that removed Bolivia’s elected President, Evo Morales, from office. With the coronavirus crisis reaching the country, Bolivians continue to suffer violent repression and savage austerity measures under an illegitimate regime, which is now putting lives in danger through its response to the pandemic.
It is important to restate that Evo Morales was ousted after being declared the winner of October’s election with a lead of 10 points over his nearest challenger, Carlos Mesa.
Claims of irregularities by the Organisation of American States (OAS), which is 60 per cent US-funded, were used to justify the coup but have been rejected by studies into the election.
Far-right forces are rising across Latin America and the Caribbean, armed with a common agenda of anti-communism, the culture war, and neoliberal economics, writes VIJAY PRASHAD
Noboa’s second term looks set to deepen his neoliberal policies: reduced public investment, privatization, cuts to social programmes, and militarisation, says PILAR TROYA FERNANDEZ



