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MEXICO CITY — Boliv-

ia’s Evo Morales called for

the United Nations, and

possibly Pope Francis, to

mediate in the Andean

nation’s political crisis

following his ouster as presi-

dent in what he called a

coup d’etat that forced him

into exile in Mexico.

Morales said in an inter-

view with the Associated

Press on Thursday in Mexi-

co City that he is still the

president of Bolivia since

the country’s Legislative

Assembly has not yet ac-

cepted his resignation,

which he presented Sunday

at the urging of military

leaders following weeks of

protests against a reelection

that his opponents called

fraudulent.

“The Assembly has to

reject or approve the resig-

nation,” which it has not

done, said the man who

ruled Bolivia for almost 14

years as its first indigenous

president. “If they don’t

approve or reject it, I can say

that I am still president.”

Morales submitted his

resignation to Congress as

specified by the constitu-

tion, although he and his

supporters say it was forced

by the military and should

have required a vote by the

Senate on whether to accept

it. His critics say the consti-

tution makes no mention of

such a vote.

Morales said he would

return to Bolivia from Mexi-

co, which has granted him

political asylum.

However, Bolivia’s inter-

im leader said in La Paz, the

seat of government, on

Friday that Morales will face

possible legal charges for

election fraud if he returns

home.

“He knows he has ac-

counts pending with justice.

He can return but he has to

answer to justice for elector-

al fraud,” self-appointed

interim President Jeanine

Añez said.

Political analyst Kathryn

Ledebur of the nonprofit

Andean Information Net-

work in Bolivia, who has

lived in the country for

nearly 30 years, said Morales

could have a case in saying

his resignation is invalid.

“A resignation letter has

to be presented and consid-

ered, and accepted in the

plenary before it goes into

effect,” she said. “Do I think

that Evo wants to return

and be president? I don’t

see that. But does he want

to mess with them? Yes. He

wants to keep them guess-

ing.”

Two days after arriving

in Mexico, Morales told the

Associated Press he had

received information that

some Bolivian army troops

were planning to “rebel”

against the officers who

urged him to resign. But he

gave no specifics on how

many were in on the plan, or

how they would rebel.

Morales said he was

“surprised by the betrayal of

the commander in chief of

the armed forces,” Gen.

Williams Kaliman.

He called for calm and

dialogue in Bolivia.

U.N. Secretary-General

Antonio Guterres said

Thursday he was sending

Jean Arnault, a personal

envoy, to Bolivia to support

efforts to find a peaceful

solution to the crisis.

“I have a lot of confidence

in the U.N.,” Morales said.

But he noted he wants the

world body “to be a media-

tor, not just a facilitator,

perhaps accompanied by

the Catholic Church, and if

Pope Francis is needed, we

should add him.”

He said the United

States was the “great con-

spirator” behind what he

called the coup d’etat that

forced him from Bolivia.

Morales has long had a

tense relationship with

Washington and in 2008

expelled U.S. Drug Enforce-

ment Administration offi-

cials from Bolivia.

Añez, the interim leader,

has been recognized by

some countries but faces an

uphill battle in organizing

new elections.

According to the consti-

tution, an interim president

has 90 days to organize an

election. The disputed

accession of Añez, who until

Tuesday was second vice

president of the Senate, was

an example of the long list of

obstacles she faces. Mor-

ales’ backers, who hold a

two-thirds majority in Con-

gress, boycotted the session

she called Tuesday night to

formalize her claim to the

presidency, preventing a

quorum.

Late Thursday, legisla-

tors with Morales’ Move-

ment Toward Socialism

party, or MAS, and Añez

were working on an agree-

ment for new elections that

would help resolve the cri-

sis. The deal would make

Eva Copa Murga the Senate

president with the backing

of legislators from Añez’s

Democratic Unity party.

“It’s a historic agreement

to pacify the country,” Copa

Murga said. But other legis-

lators said a deal had not yet

been reached.

Meanwhile, Morales’

backers on Thursday dem-

onstrated for his return

from asylum in Mexico.

They had come

overnight from Chapare, a

coca-growing region where

Morales became a promi-

nent union leader before he

became president. Soldiers

blocked them from reaching

the nearby city of Cocha-

bamba, where Morales’

supporters and foes have

clashed for weeks.

Morales’ resignation

followed nationwide pro-

tests over suspected vote-

rigging in an Oct. 20 election

in which he claimed to have

won a fourth term in office.

An Organization of Ameri-

can States audit of the vote

found widespread irreg-

ularities. Morales denies

there was fraud.

Much of the opposition

to Morales sprang from his

refusal to accept a refer-

endum that would have

forbidden him from running

for a new term.

Añez was moving to

establish authority in the

turbulent country. She

announced that Morales

could not participate in

elections but his MAS party

could.

Morales upended politics

in this nation long ruled by

light-skinned descendants

of Europeans by reversing

deep-rooted inequality. The

economy benefited from a

boom in prices of commod-

ities, and he ushered

through a new constitution

that created a new Congress

with seats reserved for

Bolivia’s smaller indigenous

groups while also allowing

self-rule for all indigenous

communities.

Although some support-

ers became disenchanted by

his insistence on holding on

to power, Morales remains

popular, especially among

members of his native

Aymara ethnic group.

BACK STORY

Morales seeks U.N.’s help

Bolivia’s ousted leader wants world body, and maybe pope, to mediate

associated press

EVO MORALES,shown in exile in Mexico City this week, maintains that he is still Bolivia’s president.

Pedro PardoAFP/Getty Images