Naming New Ministers, Bolivia's Anez Calls For Anti-Morales Alliance

La Paz, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jan, 2020 ) :Bolivia's interim president Jeanine Anez named three new ministers in a cabinet reshuffle Tuesday and urged conservatives to form a pact to defeat ex-president Evo Morales' party in May 3 polls.

Anez called on her entire cabinet to resign on Sunday but ended up naming only three new ministers as part of a newly-confirmed government.

In a speech at government house in La Paz, she said the move was necessary "to be absolutely sure that all the members of the ministerial team are committed to honest and transparent management." Anez, in power since November 12, had called on her 20-strong cabinet to resign on Sunday hours after communications minister Roxana Lizarraga resigned in protest at Anez's decision last week to run as a candidate in the May presidential election.

The cabinet remains largely untouched. She named former presidential candidate Victor Hugo Cardenas to the education portfolio, journalist Maria Isabel Fernandez in communications and Eliane Capobianco as Rural Development minister.

Anez, 52, also called on the political parties opposed to Morales to form an electoral alliance to defeat his Movement for Socialism (MAS) party candidate Luis Arce.

The government's priority would be "to continue to work for the tranquility and stability of all Bolivians," she said.

Arce returned from self-imposed exile in Mexico to launch his campaign in La Paz on Tuesday, but was immediately served with a subpoena, accused of embezzlement during his tenure as Morales' economy minister.

However, Attorney General Heidy Gil said that no arrest warrant has been issued for Arce.

He was met at the airport by his running mate, former foreign minister David Choquehuanca, amid cheering supporters waving an indigenous flag.

Arce, 56, left the airport without speaking to the press as his supporters chanted: "Arce, president," and "Fight, friend, the people are with you." However, he later wrote on Twitter: "Together with the people, we will win. I feel a lot of affection and now we'll continue on our road to the presidency."Arce is considered the mastermind behind Bolivia's economic success under Morales.

Morales was in power for almost 14 years before resigning on November 10 following three weeks of at times violent protests against his controversial re-election in an October poll.