Jeanine Añez apologizes for mistakes made in her administration and criticizes abuses by her entourage

 The former president admitted that it was a mistake to extend her administration beyond three months and questioned her entourage. 

Jeanine Áñez wrote a new letter from her imprisonment. This time, remembering that she has been in prison for a year, she apologized to the people for the mistakes she made during her administration and admitted that it was a mistake to have extended her transitory administration. The former president also reproached her entourage for having committed abuses and having negotiated with the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS). 

"I apologize to the Bolivian people for having trusted so many close people who betrayed me and abused my trust, my good faith, lying and manipulating the truth, hiding it and some negotiating with our executioners to return to power," wrote Áñez in a letter uploaded to her social networks.

The former president completed a year in preventive detention yesterday, first in Obrajes prison and then in Miraflores, both in La Paz. Áñez is being prosecuted in three trials that have not started and her health is deteriorated. The former president regretted that her children are worried about her imprisonment without being able to do anything.

In addition, Añez acknowledged that it was a mistake to have prolonged her mandate when she should only be three months to call for elections. In 2020, her entourage, led by Arturo Murillo, now detained in the United States, pushed her to be a presidential candidate in that year's elections. Her running mate was Samuel Doria Medina and she had allies such as Luis Revilla. She had to decline her candidacy shortly before the elections due to the little support received.

Long administration

"To the Bolivian people, after a year of being illegally and unjustly locked up, I apologize for the mistakes made during the year of my government, which should not have been one year, but three months, but the pandemic forced us to postpone the elections, an event that was agreed with the Electoral Tribunal and the ALP (Plurinational Legislative Assembly)," says another part of her missive.

Áñez reiterated that the only thing she did was to fulfill her duty by accepting her appointment as President of the State, after Evo Morales resigned from office on November 10, 2019. Likewise, she declares herself kidnapped and an innocent political prisoner.

"Today, it is true, they have me physically imprisoned, kidnapped, but they will never be able to imprison my conscience, my values and my dignity, my conscience is free, my love for Bolivia is unconditional, my struggle for justice, for me and all political prisoners, freedom and democracy is a personal commitment," wrote Áñez.

The former president, in addition to the Golpe I and Golpe II cases, faces a third criminal proceeding in which she has already been charged and the Prosecutor's Office has requested her preventive detention for six months. This is the case of the alleged irregular appointment of Karina Fabiola Leiva Añez de Ruiz, as manager of Empresa Boliviana de Alimentos (EBA) in 2020. The fourth criminal case against Añez is for torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, which is still under investigation.

The Legislative could not approve a trial of responsibilities against Añez because MAS does not have two thirds in the Assembly.