November 14, 2019 / Modified nov 14, 2019 10:57 a.m.

Exiled in Mexico, Evo Morales promises return to Bolivia

The former Bolivian president said the Mexican government had saved him by granting asylum and refuge.

morales mexico VIEW LARGER Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, center left, welcomes former Bolivian President Evo Morales, center right, at the Mexico City airport on Tuesday.
Mexico Foreign Relations Ministry via Fronteras Desk

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who resigned over the weekend amid pressure from the military and civilian protesters, arrived in Mexico on Tuesday morning, thanking the Mexican government for saving his life and vowing to return to Bolivia.

Morales, wearing a wrinkled polo shirt after a circuitous overnight flight, told reporters at the Mexico City airport that his home had been raided and the Mexican government had saved him in granting him asylum and refuge. He and his former vice president and health minister, who’d also resigned, were welcomed on the airport landing strip by Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard.

“We’re very grateful,” Morales said. “Thank you for saving our lives.”

The Mexican government went to great lengths to extract Morales from Bolivia after his resignation on Sunday. A Mexican Air Force plane flew through Paraguay, Brazil and Ecuador to reach international waters in the Atlantic and eventually the Atlantic. After the plane had picked up Morales in Bolivia, it had been denied passage through Bolivia and Peru.

“The president and the people of Mexico welcome you,” Ebrard told Morales in front of reporters at the airport.

Fronteras Desk
This story is from the Fronteras Desk, a collaboration of Southwestern public radio stations, including NPR 89.1. Read more from the Fronteras Desk.
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