This archive report was first published on 25 November 2019.
La Paz, Bolivia's seat of government, has seen a significant easing of shortages and protests in recent days, with gas stations replenishing their fuel supplies and schools re-opening.
Interim President Jeanine Anez told reporters on Monday that the country was 'returning to normal after something very hard and very dramatic.'
"We are returning to normal after something very hard and very dramatic," Anez said, a day after signing a law authorizing new elections seen as crucial to ending unrest in the landlocked country.
For many Bolivians, the return to normalcy has been a welcome relief. Mother-of-two Jazmin Chavez said her children were pleased to be back at school after nearly a month stuck at home.
"They are happy, they have returned to class, they have seen their friends again," Chavez, 34, told AFP.
Elections ¶
Dozens of people have been killed since the disputed October 20 election, many of them in clashes with security forces.
On November 10, former President Evo Morales fled to Mexico, where he was granted political asylum following his resignation after losing the support of the police and military.
On November 25, Congress gave a green light for a new vote without Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, who had been seeking a fourth term after nearly 14 years as leader of the poor but resource-rich country.
The law signed by Anez on November 24 annuls the results of the October 20 vote and bars candidates who served in both of the two previous terms from seeking re-election for the same position.
