Morales Arrives in Mexico, Leaving Chaos in His Wake

An opposition leader in Bolivia's Senate has declared herself the country's interim president after the resignation of Evo Morales, the AP reports. The 52-year-old Jeanine Añez, the Senate's second vice president, took temporary control of the Senate late Tuesday, putting her next in line for the presidency. Lawmakers of Morales' Movement for Socialism party were not present when Añez made the announcement and a member had previously said the party would not participate because the assembly session is illegal. Lawmakers had earlier said they lack the quorum for an assembly session to discuss Morales' resignation; it needs to be approved by both houses of Congress.

As Morales landed in Mexico where he is being granted asylum, socialist party members flooded the streets of Venezuela's capital city to show their support for Morales, calling his ouster a Washington-backed coup d'etat. Thousands marched through Caracas on Tuesday, many carrying handmade signs scrawled with "Evo!" Morales, who stepped down on Sunday at the "suggestion" of his country's military chief following several tumultuous weeks of protests since his disputed election to a fourth term, was the last survivor of a so-called "pink tide" of leftist leaders across Latin America that included former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

(More Bolivia stories.)