Why Bolivia doesn't fit the pattern of historic Latin American coups

This wasn't your classic U.S.-funded golpe de estado

Evo Morales.
(Image credit: Illustrated | REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/, REUTERS/Edgard Garrido, EvgVect/iStock)

On November 10, Bolivian president Evo Morales — who was elected by 61 percent of the population in 2014 — was removed from power via a coup d'etat.

In the days since, progressive politicians around the world — including U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar — have expressed their concern, comparing the situation to past U.S.-backed military takeovers in Latin America.

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Benjamin Waddell is an associate professor of sociology at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He is a father, husband, writer, professor, and advocate for social justice. He is a contributing writer for HuffPost, The Conversation, and Global Americans. He also has recent publications in Sociology of Development, Latin American Research Review, The Social Science Journal, and Rural Sociology.