Bolivia interim president declares 'Bible has returned to the palace' amid growing uncertainty

A day after brandishing a giant leather-bound Bible and declaring herself Bolivia’s interim president, Jeanine Añez set to the task of trying to steady a nation divided by bloody political disputes and create the stability necessary to organize national elections.

The 52-year-old second-vice president of the Senate claimed the presidency on Tuesday following the ousting of socialist leader Evo Morales due to alleged election fraud and resignations from several high-ranking successors that left a power void in the country.

“The Bible has returned to the government palace,” Añez declared as part of an effort to separate herself from Morales, who had banned the Bible from the site after he reformed the constitution and recognized an Andean earth deity instead of the Roman Catholic Church.

"My commitment is to return democracy and tranquility to the country," she said. "They can never again steal our vote."

It’s unclear to what extent Bolivians support Añez. Some people celebrated in the streets cheering and waving national flags, while Morales supporters tried storming the Congress building in La Paz shouting, “She must quit!”

Morales, who stepped down Sunday and fled the country in self-exile, said on Twitter from Mexico that Añez's "self-proclamation" was an affront to constitutional government.

"Bolivia is suffering an assault on the power of the people," he wrote, adding that Añez was “a right-wing coup leader.”

While the constitution states that Añez didn’t need a congressional vote to assume the presidency, there wasn’t a quorum for a formal debate on accepting Morales' resignation. Lawmakers from Morales' Movement for Socialism boycotted the assembly session for Añez's ascension, calling it “illegal.”

Añez now has 90 days to organize an election, which must be done before Jan. 22, when Morales’ term was meant to end.

She will need to arrange a new electoral court, find a non-partisan staff for the electoral tribunal and get Congress to vote on a new election. And all of it must be done while Morales’ Movement for Socialism party still controls both houses of Congress.

After weeks of violent protests, Morales stepped down Sunday at the "suggestion" of his country's military chief and went into hiding. Morales fled Bolivia Tuesday after Mexico granted him asylum.

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UPDATE:

Pope Francis denounces 'inhuman, un-Christian' rebirth of anti-Semitism: 'Jews are our brothers'


Pope Francis warned against the “inhuman, un-Christian” rebirth of anti-Semitism in Italy after the issue reared its head in the country where the Vatican is situated.

Liliana Segre, an 89-year-old Auschwitz survivor and Italian senator, called for the creation of a parliamentary committee to combat hate, racism and anti-Semitism after revelations that she is subject to some 200 social media attacks each day.

Speaking at his general audience Wednesday, the Holy See acknowledged the rise in anti-Semitism, even after the world thought the "brutalities" of the Holocaust had ended.

“Here and there, there is a new rebirth of persecuting Jews," he said. "Brothers and sisters, this isn’t human or Christian. Jews are our brothers. And they must not be persecuted. Understand?”

Francis has spoken several times before calling on the Church and the world to "snuff out any whiff" of resurgent anti-Anti-semitism.

"THE HOLOCAUST" = BLOOD LIBEL AGAINST WHITES