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Bolivia’s Interim Leader Pledges to ‘Reconstruct Democracy’

The leader, Jeanine Añez Chavez, appointed a new cabinet, but backers of the ousted Evo Morales have promised to disrupt the new government.

Jeanine Añez Chavez, Bolivia’s interim leader, appointed members of her cabinet on Wednesday evening in La Paz.Credit...Federico Rios for The New York Times

LA PAZ, Bolivia — The lawmaker who has assumed Bolivia’s interim presidency addressed her violence-torn nation on Wednesday and pledged to “reconstruct democracy,” even as the ousted Bolivian president called her government unconstitutional and his backers vowed to disrupt it.

In her first televised address to Bolivia, Jeanine Añez Chavez, the senator who declared herself interim president on Tuesday, urged citizens to resume their normal lives after weeks of violence set off by a disputed election. She promised to seek “a national consensus.”

And Ms. Añez rejected accusations from Evo Morales, who stepped down as president on Sunday with his country in turmoil, that her assumption of the presidency was illegitimate. Mr. Morales has taken refuge in Mexico.

On Wednesday, with the backing of the military, Ms. Añez met with advisers to appoint a new cabinet.

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On Wednesday, thousands of Bolivians marched against Ms. Añez.Credit...Federico Rios for The New York Times

But outside, in the streets of La Paz, a scene of chaos was playing out, and it was clear that Bolivia remained deeply polarized and volatile four days after Mr. Morales, the nation’s first Indigenous leader, resigned amid claims of election fraud.

On Wednesday afternoon, after using tear gas to break up a peaceful protest by supporters of Mr. Morales, the police blocked about a dozen senators allied with the former president from entering the legislature.

“Dictatorship! Dictatorship!” chanted the crowd accompanying the lawmakers.

Less than an hour later, as tear gas wafted outside the government palace, the armed forces announced a shake-up of the high command. An army general, Carlos Orellana Centellas, became the new top commander of the armed forces and promised to take orders from Ms. Añez.

“We will guarantee the security of the constitutional government,” General Orellana Centellas said.

Ms. Añez’s assumption of the interim presidency has won the backing of the country’s Constitutional Court. And Wednesday night, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the United States “applauds” Ms. Anez for “stepping up” as Bolivia’s interim leader.

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Tear gas and smoke filled the air in La Paz as demonstrators clashed with the police.Credit...Federico Rios for The New York Times

But Mario Galindo, a noted Bolivian political science professor, said the political situation was confusing and in flux. “At this moment, it is not clear who is in charge of whom,” he said.

Under Bolivian law, he said, the senators who were barred from entering the legislature “had all the right to enter the senate and meet with whomever they wanted.”

Supporters of Mr. Morales remained skeptical of Ms. Añez, accusing her and the opposition of having staged a coup.

“We want Morales to return,” said one protester, Graciela Argollo, a radio station worker from Cochabamba, Mr. Morales’s stronghold. “Añez must resign. She’s not with the farmers and poor people.”

Ms. Añez declared herself interim leader of Bolivia’s government before a special session of the legislature on Tuesday night. She had been next in line of succession after the resignation of Mr. Morales and a series of high-ranking officials on Sunday.

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Supporters of Mr. Morales at a march from El Alto to La Paz on Wednesday.Credit...Federico Rios for The New York Times

Ms. Añez has said she intends to stay in power only until new elections can be held, in 90 days.

But the session at which she claimed power was boycotted by supporters of Mr. Morales, who hold a majority. In Mexico City, Mr. Morales told reporters that Ms. Añez’s government was unconstitutional because the legislature had not approved his resignation.

Mr. Morales said he would return to Bolivia “if the people ask me to return to pacify” it, but he also said he was willing to bow out if it would unite the country and end the violence.

“Without Evo if they want, but without violence, because that isn’t the solution,” he said. “But it doesn’t depend just on Evo.”

Mr. Morales also offered a defense of his record, citing the rise from poverty made by many members of Bolivia’s long-repressed Indigenous communities. He listed economic statistics to prove his success, down to the miles of roads that were paved under his presidency.

“Continuity is important for the economic development of the country,” he said.

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Former President Evo Morales said at a news conference in Mexico City that he was willing to return from exile “if the people ask me.”Credit...Toya Sarno Jordan for The New York Times

Bolivia’s political crisis and widespread protests were set off by the recent election in which Mr. Morales, 60, declared victory in his quest for a fourth term.

His grip on power swiftly eroded amid accusations that the vote had been rigged. The Organization of American States, which monitored the elections, said that the Oct. 20 vote was marred by irregularities and that it could not validate Mr. Morales’s claim of victory.

As the protests went on, some police units defected and joined the protests, and military officials called on Mr. Morales to resign.

A former media executive and conservative legislator, Ms. Añez quickly gained the support of the Bolivian Army’s high command, who visited her on Tuesday for a planning meeting at the government palace. Her backers released photos of members of the high command saluting her.

The new government was welcomed enthusiastically by crowds in Santa Cruz, a longtime center of dissent against Mr. Morales, and other localities, though it appeared that few people know much about Ms. Añez, who had served in an obscure legislative post.

“I can’t say that I like her or not,” Victor Pusari, the son of an apartment building porter, who was guarding the entrance of his central La Paz building, said on Wednesday. “But we need a leader, someone to be in charge.”

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Members of the military guarding the presidential palace in La Paz on Wednesday.Credit...Federico Rios for The New York Times

Ms. Anez swore in an 11-member cabinet Wednesday evening in a ceremony at the government palace, in which she promised “an inclusive government.”

The cabinet included three women but no Indigenous people. Perhaps the most important member will be the new Economy Minister, Jose Luis Parada, an energy specialist, who will be responsible for reviving an economy weakened low natural gas prices and by recent road blockages and violent protests.

Looting and clashes between the police and demonstrators across the country have left at least eight dead in recent weeks, according to Bolivian news reports.

On Wednesday, Morales supporters descended on La Paz for a third day in a row from El Alto, a nearby mountain city with a heavily Indigenous population.

Chaos gripped the downtown as protesters set bonfires in the street and the police launched tear gas at groups of demonstrators. A mix of tear gas and smoke made the air difficult to breath. Stores were shut, and hotel employees handed out vinegar-drenched rags for guests who had been gassed.

Some Bolivians said they were prepared to back the interim government.

“When they come, we’re here to defend,” said Jarameel Armas, a university student who joined the police at a barricade of corrugated metal and heavy chains, referring to Morales supporters. “We will defend the new government and the democracy we have won.”

Kirk Semple and Elisabeth Malkin contributed reporting from Mexico City.

Clifford Krauss is a national energy business correspondent based in Houston. He joined The Times in 1990 and has been the bureau chief in Buenos Aires and Toronto. He is the author of “Inside Central America: Its People, Politics, and History.” More about Clifford Krauss

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Interim Leader Asks Bolivia to Return to Normalcy as the Streets Seethe. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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