The Supreme Court of Bolivia considered that Áñez’s succession was not an act of usurpation, but rather an act of constitutional necessity, which is why it annulled his conviction.
Mexico City, November 6 (However).- Jeanine Aneza member of the Bolivian opposition who proclaimed herself President in November 2019, left the Miraflores prison in La Paz this Thursday, where she was imprisoned. four years and eight monthsafter the day before Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) will annul the 10-year sentence against him for participating in the coup d’état against Evo Morales.
“The monster had to go so that I could return to life, the monster had to go so that it would be recognized that there had never been a coup d’état in this country,” said Áñez upon leaving the prison, where she was received by her children, her lawyers and several of her supporters.
The ultra-conservative reaffirmed that what happened during that period was an “electoral fraud” that moved “all Bolivians to complain,” in reference to the accusations that led to the resignation and subsequent departure of former President Evo Morales, under pressure from the military and the opposition who did not recognize the results.
🇧🇴 | NOW: The former interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, is released from prison after almost five years following the annulment of her conviction. pic.twitter.com/WdkQAHZgRQ
— Alerta News 24 (@AlertNews24) November 6, 2025
“This whole experience, of almost five unfair years, in which I was treated like a true criminal, without compassion, and in which my health deteriorated, leaves me stronger,” she said.
Áñez also thanked her for the support received during the 1,710 days she spent in prison after being sentenced to ten years for irregularly assuming the Presidency in 2019 when she served as second vice president of the Senate.
The resolution indicates that “the succession was not an act of usurpation, but an act of constitutional necessity” and considers that the court that convicted Áñez “failed to assess that the resignations” of those who were before the former president in the line of succession in 2019 “were public, express and with immediate effect.”
Consequently, they determined that Áñez must assume any responsibility for her role in the political crisis in a political trial in parliament and not through common criminal proceedings.
Áñez assumed interim command of the country on November 12, 2019, two days after the resignation of then-ruler Evo Morales (2006-2019) and all officials in line for presidential succession. Morales resigned and left the country claiming to be the victim of a “coup d’état”, amid citizen protests over allegations of electoral fraud in his favor in the 2019 general elections that were later annulled.
The opposition member was arrested in March 2021 within the process initiated by a former deputy of the still-governmental Movement towards Socialism (MAS), due to the 2019 crisis. Last August, the TSJ ordered a review of the deadlines for preventive detentions in all processes against Áñez and two other regional leaders opposed to the MAS, which led to the release of these politicians.
After the opposition did not recognize the results of the October 2019 elections, and amid strong mobilizations, Morales resigned from office on November 10. Two days later, Áñez assumed ownership of the Senate and then the Presidency of the country before a Congress without a necessary quorum or the parliamentary majority of the MAS.
-With information from Europa Press.