Fight Back Against the Authoritarian /Fascist Coup

What’s a distraction? I’ve often heard some version of “Trump is just doing X to distract from Y.” This is a smart political take in certain political circles. The strategic gist of it is: “Don’t fall for Trump’s trap! Keep your eye on the prize.”

But taken too far, this anti-distraction impulse… distracts us from the real, live fight for our democracy.

Is everything distracting from Epstein? In recent weeks, the argument has been that, whatever Trump is doing, he is doing it to distract from the Epstein Files. I think there’s some truth to this.

Trump has an insatiable appetite for attention, but he wants that attention focused on his strength and power. He’s OK being portrayed as cruel or unreasonable, but he’s not OK being portrayed as weak, ridiculous, or weird.

So, yes, the Epstein Files are damaging to Trump, and Democrats should not let them go. But unfortunately, scheming to hide the Epstein Files isn’t the only, or even the worst, thing Trump and his MAGA footsoldiers are doing.

Epstein is bad. So is our descent into authoritarianism. In just the last week, we’ve seen Trump occupy DC, terrorizing local residents as MAGA governors pledge to send even more troops and James Comer, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, promises they’ll do the same thing to other cities.

Meanwhile, as backlash to Trump's agenda grows and we near the midterm campaign season, Republicans across the country are rigging the maps to steal seats in 2026. And unsatisfied by gerrymandering alone, Trump just let loose a tirade against our voting system and issued a meaningless, but threatening, executive order.

Fighting for our democracy is not a distraction. The occupation of our capital city is not “a distraction.” It’s part of the dictator’s playbook. The attempt to rig the rules of the next election is not “a distraction.” It’s a direct threat to the will of the voters.

Some will argue that we should only focus on the issues where we have an advantage, but that ignores the role of conflict in shaping how the public understands an issue. There were people arguing that we should ignore Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles for exactly the same reasons. Does that logic look better now?

Can you imagine if we said:

• “Residents of DC, don’t organize to fight back against your city’s occupation -- you’ll only distract from the Epstein Files.”
• “Texas Dems, don’t break quorum to fight back against the gerrymander -- you’ll only distract from the Epstein Files.” 
• “Pro-democracy advocates, don’t indulge Trump’s bombast about mail voting and voting machines -- you’ll only distract from the Epstein Files.”

We must learn to walk, chew gum, fight for democracy, and talk about the Epstein Files all at the same time. Our descent into authoritarianism demands a response.

So I celebrate Indivisible Danville, in Kentucky, rallying outside of James Comer’s office demanding this proponent of DC occupation face his own constituents. I celebrate the more than 300 rapid response events this weekend in support of the Texas Dems who broke quorum to resist the GOP gerrymander. I celebrate every Indivisible who’s called into their federal representatives’ offices to demand that they support DC. And I celebrate every Indivisible group leader who’s preparing for the next big mobilization (stay tuned)!

Trump is weak on Epstein. But he’s also weak on militarizing American cities, corrupting our voting systems, Ukraine, his blind support for Netanyahu, the economy, jobs, inflation, Medicaid, and healthcare.

By all means, we should keep our eyes on the prize, but that prize is a democracy where we’re all safe and we all have a voice. When we fight back against federal encroachment of our rights, that’s not a distraction -- it’s necessary, strategic, patriotic action.

And if you’re looking for those kinds of actions, read on to this week’s to-dos.

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

---

Your weekly to-dos

1. Fight the Trump-MAGA Redistricting Coup from any state with our new toolkit. Trump’s trying to steal the midterms by making his red-state minions rig the House maps. We all have a role to play in the fight for fair 2026 elections; visit our toolkit or scroll down for more info.
2. Join a mass call with AG Keith Ellison about ways states and cities can defend the rule of law. We're joining AG Ellison, a coalition of partner organizations, and brave officials from across the US to lay out how state/local leaders can fight Trump’s takeover -- touching on redistricting, unmasking ICE, and more.
3. Watch tonight’s Solidarity in Action session (7pm ET / 4pm PT) for an expert’s guide to building coalitions. Cristina Jimenez co-founded United We Dream and wrote a bestselling memoir on her experiences as an immigrant and organizer. She’ll share what she’s learned along the way -- and how you can build powerful coalitions.

1776-2025 The Time for Resistance Has Arrived

Sanders: America Must Not Surrender Its Democratic Values.

https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/america-must-not-surrender-its-democratic-values

 Sasha Abramsky, in the Nation, makes clear the foreign policy disgrace of Friday , Feb.28, 2025. 

US. Policy will  now be unstable for years and dangerous to all. 

POLITICS / FEBRUARY 28, 2025

The Most Disgraceful Foreign Policy Spectacle in US History

Donald Trump and JD Vance tried to humiliate Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday with the whole world watching.

SASHA ABRAMSKY

SHARE

 

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/disgraceful-foreign-policy-spectacle-in-us-history/

The current crisis in our government is not primarily a foreign policy issue. 

Numerous writers, individuals, and organizations have analyzed and opined on the current situation.  On this site, we have shared the efforts of many organizations. 

The fundamental questions are – what are we going to do about the coup against our democratic government?  Many  tactics, many strategies are available. 

 

They are described on our Resistance Pages.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cRIJsSJwtF72ckJ8QLQu5cDCGnoeh5OIIjwqRkDKdBg/edit?

 

We need to be clear on how substantive the dangers are.

Choose Democracy has some excellent organizing ideas and videos.

What can I do to fight the coup?

Starting points on how to orient and help fight the coup:

1.    Get with others to act

2.    Pressure a pillar of support to defect

3.    Devote yourself to a long-term project

READ COMPLETE GUIDE: “WHAT CAN I DO TO FIGHT THIS COU

 

The Democratic Party is not going to lead us to substantive resistance.  DSA has shown itself to be largely ineffectual.

 

I, for myself, find a need to move on to more assertive resistance.  I am exploring tax resistance. Some of us did this during the war in Vietnam. This time the danger is not to the people of a distant land, it is a danger to our country.

Duane Campbell

Trump Impounds Billions of Public Money : An Administrative Coup

 

Our summary is this: It's an administrative coup. Trump has ordered tens of billions (maybe up to $3 trillion) of budget halted indefinitely in a blatantly illegal move. He's claiming power to halt and potentially redirect funding that's already been authorized by Congress — a classic authoritarian move.

Here's what we know. And we're doing our best to catch up with this story, because it's moving fast.

There's a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget. (That's the same government entity who set-up the DEI "snitch" line, that's now been spammed by tens of thousands of our fellow residents.) 

In typical Trump-style, the memo gets its facts wrong. It claims in FY2024 the US government spent $10 trillion (actually it was $6.8 trillion). It says money should be used for the administration's priorities — "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve." (Again, it's very fact deficient.)

The memo says a pause will begin at 5pm on January 28th where, "Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal."

Anyone promised federal grants might have their money at risk, even states. This is Congressional directed spending and Trump is ordering people to not do it. This funding includes universities for education and research programs, nonprofits, local and tribal governments, disaster relief aid, education and transportation funding, loans to small businesses… the list is long. (It does explicitly exclude Social Security and Medicare and "assistance provided directly to individuals.")

The mainstream press hasn't caught the significance. The NY Times has the story buried. The Washington Post at least has it as their top story, but with wild understatements like "the order's legality may be contested." Smart groups like Democracy Forward are already looking for plaintiffs (if you think you might be one, please contact them). 

Others see this rightly as a huge power grab: "What OMB is doing violates the constitution itself. The ICA fills in the details of how congress and the executive interact over the spending power, but finding the ICA unconstitutional and ratifying OMB’s action here would mean overthrowing the most fundamental constitutional design."  Thanks to journalist Marisa Kabas who broke this story.

Rebecca Solnit has captured some of the immediate pushback from Democrats in Congress. For example:

“They say this is only temporary, but no one should believe that,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) said in a statement. “Donald Trump must direct his Administration to reverse course immediately and the taxpayers’ money should be distributed to the people. Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law.”

So what can we do?

It's been a lot. And the shock approach of this administration is to overwhelm us with nonsense and a state of paralysis. We continue to believe the best thing is to stay grounded and keep yourself sane amidst insanity. 

At this juncture, three actions we suggest that make sense to us:

1) Urge media to cover this story properly

This is not "possibly illegal" — it's "patently illegal." You can read notes on that here.

It's not "temporary" — it's "indefinite." There's no timetable for ending it.

It's not just a memo — it's an administrative coup.

2) Urge your Representatives to act like this is a big deal

If you know us, this isn't a knee-jerk action we suggest. We think this is a strategic because it's Congress that's being violated — their power is being directly undermined. 

3) Continue to support ACLU and Democracy Forward

These groups have been preparing litigation for some time. Unless Trump revokes this, this will certainly make its way through the courts. Our read is even the biased courts will have trouble swallowing this — so it may end up being shut down. 

Keep breathing. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again," Nelson Mandela.

Warmly,

- Choose Democracy

Chilean Coup of 1973

 

 

Chilean  Coup of 1973  and the U.S.A.

We have a new post up on our blog.  Chilean Coup of 1973. 

Note. They are still at it. 

September 3, 2023 Ariel Dorfman  THE NEW YORK REVIEW

 

On September 4, 1973, an enormous multitude of Chileans—I was one of them—poured into the streets of Santiago to back the besieged government of Salvador Allende. Ever since he had won the presidency three years earlier with 36.6 percent of the vote in a three-way race, forces from inside and outside the country had been conspiring to destroy his attempt—the first in world history—to build a socialist state through nonviolent, democratic means. One shout from a chorus of voices echoed through the air: “Allende, Allende, el pueblo te defiende,” emphasizing the need to defend the president. After one thousand days of unrelenting opposition, his enemies seemed close to orchestrating a coup d’état that would wipe “the Marxist cancer” from Chilean society forever.

https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/chilean-coup-of-1973-and-the-usa

  

RS Seminar- Economic Crisis: Four Stages of a Coup

RS Seminar- Economic Crisis: Four Stages of a Coup:   Robert Reich,   Trump’s attempted coup against the United States continues. We are now in Phase 3. Phase 1 was his refusal to concede the ...

Jan 6, 2022, Vigil for Democracy

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Jan 6, 2022, Event: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/434560/?force_banner=true&share_context=event_details&share_medium=copy_link  

The Coup - January 6, 2021

Every Day Now is January 6

NY Times Editorial

NYT Editorial. Everyday is Jan. 6. Part 2.

 

Whatever happens in Washington, in the months and years to come, Americans of all stripes who value their self-government must mobilize at every level — not simply once every four years but today and tomorrow and the next day — to win elections and help protect the basic functions of democracy. If people who believe in conspiracy theories can win, so can those who live in the reality-based world.

Above all, we should stop underestimating the threat facing the country. Countless times over the past six years, up to and including the events of Jan. 6, Mr. Trump and his allies openly projected their intent to do something outrageous or illegal or destructive. Every time, the common response was that they weren’t serious or that they would never succeed. How many times will we have to be proved wrong before we take it seriously? The sooner we do, the sooner we might hope to salvage a democracy that is in grave danger.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/01/opinion/january-6-attack-committee.html

 

The Attempted Coup Against Democratic Elections

On Wednesday afternoon, a rally of Trump supporters — after being whipped up by Trump, repeating myths of a stolen election — stormed the Capitol building and stopped the electoral vote certification. Yes, it's an attempted coup.

Let's take a moment to acknowledge the emotional weight of this moment. This is awful and another line crossed by Trump's behavior. He called for the protest, spoke at it, and told his supporters to march to the Capitol. It is outrageous — broken windows, shots fired, explosive devices planted, 13 arrested with weapons confiscated inside the Capitol and one person shot under unclear circumstances. As members of the public, we're feeling angry and disheartened. 

We always said a coup needs legitimacy to be successful. If the goal of today's seizure of the Capitol was to gain legitimacy, the action has backfired spectacularly. 

The pillars of our democratic society are largely standing and supporting our democracy. This coup is not gaining traction or convincing the majority of lawmakers, particularly those required to certify election results. Police have successfully regained control of the Capitol (though questions will need to be answered about their taking selfies with occupiers inside the Capitol and the obvious disparate treatment of black protestors previously and the armed white protestors who just invaded the Capitol).

And it's not playing well in the public arena. In fact, the seizing of the Capitol is being decried widely by the right (some calling it domestic terrorism) — and even by politicians who supported stymying the election. This is a fluid situation.

Some other happenings of note:

• Before the Capitol was breached, Pence signalled he will not and cannot stop certificationwith a letter to Congress;

• Immediately after the insurrection at the Capitol, Politico reported a series of rapid condemnations of it from Trump-world — including people pleading with Trump to order protestors to go home;

• Biden made a national speech demanding Trump unequivocally tell protestors to go home;

• Eventually, Trump called on his supporters to "peacefully go home," while repeating myths about the election;

• Meanwhile, calls are flooding in for Trump's resignation (e.g. from Piers Morgan), impeachment (e.g. from the NAACP), and for Pence to institute the 25th amendment (from the National Association of Manufacturers);

• Twitter removed at least some of Trump's tweets;

• Nancy Pelosi announced intention to resume the vote tally tonight.

You can be sure we are monitoring this situation. We are in discussion with allies around what development might call for a national mobilization. But strategically we think this is a last gasp and the risks are huge if we simply tell people to rush into the streets.

At this moment, we are not calling for mass protest. We think one of the most dangerous cocktails would be violent clashes between civilians. Tonight, we encourage people in the DC area to honor the curfew and stay home. Everyone at the Capitol should go home. 

This violent coup attempt appears to be backfiring on its perpetrators, and they seem to be losing both in the electoral process and in the sphere of public opinion. They look out of control.

Tonight, the most effective action is to let the coup plotters expose how isolated and unsupported they are. Their actions are doing that.

We think it is strategic to get on with certification and finish it. Contact your Representatives to urge them to certify the results of the election ASAP. It's time to end this. 

We are keeping a close eye to see if things change course. Some indications we're looking for are leaders of societal pillars — other than politicians or the Stop the Steal protestors — encouraging taking to the streets to support the coup OR, people successfully occupying the Capitol building and again delaying the vote certification. 

Violence could escalate overnight, so it may be helpful to mentally prepare for that possibility. We think that behavior would only further isolate and discredit their effort to overturn the election.

We don't believe this coup attempt has the support necessary to overturn the election result. We believe we will see a democratic — if not peaceful — transfer of power on the 20th. And we return to the collective feeling: this is bad. This President's lies, urges to violence, and support of a coup attempt have done damage to our democracy that will take all of us to heal.

With gratitude, 

The Choose Democracy Team 

Also see

Also see:
The Insurrection Was Predictable
by 
DAVID SIROTA
Yesterday’s events were the expression of a dangerous authoritarian movement that has been long in the making. 
 
On Jacobin.
 
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/01/capitol-building-storming-far-right-election

Do these attempts constitute a coup? New York Times

Amanda Taub, Jan.7, 2021.

Do the actions of President Trump and some of his supporters — including Mr. Trump’s effort on Saturday to bully Georgia’s secretary of state into overturning the results of the state’s vote in the presidential election, and then yesterday openly inciting a mobthat then attacked the United States Capitol — constitute a coup attempt?

If the question is whether those actions are as gravely serious as a coup, the answer is yes, said Erica de Bruin, a political scientist at Hamilton College who has researched coups for more than a decade.

But the violent, anti-democratic attack on the Capitol doesn’t fit the technical definition of a coup even though the president incited and encouraged it. That matters, experts say, because different actions are required to prevent this type of attack from harming democracy.

A coup is an illegal attempt to take power through force or the threat of force, usually involving at least a faction of the military or formal security forces, though sometimes they are backed by paramilitaries or other armed groups.

That’s not what happened in Washington yesterday.

Although some of the people that stormed the Capitol were armed, they do not appear to be part of any organized military or rebel organization. And while Mr. Trump encouraged his loyalists in his capacity as a leader of their movement, he did not try to call the military to their aid, or otherwise use the formal powers of the presidency to help them, said Naunihal Singh, a professor at the Naval War College whose research focuses on coups.

 

Image

A member of the mob inside the Capitol on Wednesday.Credit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times

But that is not the end of the story.

These days, democracies tend to collapse from piecemeal backsliding that falls short of the technical definition of a coup, but is often ultimately more damaging. A clear pattern has played out in countries around the world, including Turkey, Russia, Hungary, and Venezuela, in which leaders come to office through elections but then undermine norms, gut institutions and change laws to dismantle any restraints on their power. Eventually, their countries become dictatorships in all but name.

Yesterday’s attack, and Mr. Trump’s encouragement of it, fit well within that category. And to combat that kind of anti-democratic backsliding requires different tactics than would be used against a coup.

“We know how to prevent coups,” said Dr. de Bruin, who literally wrote the book on how to do so. “We have a whole set of actions that international organizations, military officers, individuals can use. But we know far less about how to prevent anti-democratic actions.”

A coup either succeeds or fails, usually within a few hours. Stopping anti-democratic actions like Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol requires political engagement over time. Legal remedies like arrests and impeachment can help. So can political remedies, like political parties cutting off money to those who participate in anti-democratic actions, and party elites speaking out against it.

Subtler responses are also important.

“Authoritarian leaders are desperately afraid of ridicule because so much of their power comes from social connectedness,” Dr. Singh said, and treating them as if they are respectable reinforces that power.

But, he said, treating Wednesday’s attack, and Mr. Trump’s support of it, with the “ridicule and umbrage it deserves” is a way to undermine any suggestion of legitimacy or authority.

Some senior Republican officials did that yesterday. For weeks after the election, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican from Kentucky who is majority leader, had remained silent about Mr. Trump’s spurious claims of electoral fraud. On Wednesday, he said on the Senate floor that overruling the voters would “damage our republic forever.”

Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah and a former presidential candidate, was even more outspoken.

“We gather due to a selfish man’s injured pride,” he said when the chamber reconvened after the attack, “and the outrage of supporters who he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning. What happened here today was an insurrection incited by the president of the United States.”

 

Its Over: Democracy Won !

 We want to thank the many people who helped us avoid a catastrophic coup. 

It looks like the worst may be over. Monday likely was decisive. Trump was handed another legal slapdown in his effort to disenfranchise millions of confirmed voters with evidence-free claims. Local organizing in Michigan pushed-back against wayward electorates — ending with Michigan officially certifying election results. And the General Services Administration officially announced its transition to President-elect Biden. 

On that last point, many news sources missed the critical timing. Emily Murphy, the administrator, made the announcement first. She explicitly said she made it without input from the White House. Only after the GSA made its announcement, Trump tweeted that "I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done." It's the closest to a concession we may ever get.

We started Choose Democracy to be prepared if it was necessary for a national resistance to a coup. As an effort, we're not anti-Trump or pro-Biden. We teamed up across political spectrums to be pro-Democracy and stop a coup. Democracy has been severely tested, and is the worse for wear, but it never reached a breaking point that required a large-scale national mobilization. 

We are thankful for the fast-paced local resistance to initial coup efforts. The most dramatic was the organizing work in Michigan after the biggest post-election scandal erupted: two Michigan electorates attempted to thieve millions of votes from majority Black Detroit. Hours of heated testimony organized by mostly black organizers in Wayne County made them switch back (well, before they unsuccessfully tried to switch back again, again).

Michigan's win by organizers was public, but it wasn't alone. From our perspective, one of the biggest stories only got glancing attention: PA's Election Integrity Commission. Before the election, a nebulous commission was proposed by the GOP. It claimed to be prepared to root out fraud. As a GOP-led commission it held the right to subpoena anyone, would start before the election, and, arguably, had the ability to seize uncounted ballots. Organizers on-the-ground — including progressive leftists and moderate Republicans — defeated this effort quietly and quickly. (We look forward to telling more details of these stories!) These and other on-the-ground efforts ahead of time may have proven decisive. Thank you for all the work you did pressuring your own local politicians before the election.

We also want to thank all the groups and people who prepared for severe escalation. We believe these efforts made an impact. As any union organizer will tell you, bosses know when a union is ready for a strike and it is added into the calculation. The hundreds of news articles showing our collective preparation to resist helped — even if we didn't have to follow through this time.

Stopping a coup by a one-off rally is like stopping an army with a pea-shooter. We are thankful to folks who strategized and prepared for more than the same-old tactics. We applaud youth who prepared for a national strike, unions prepping for rolling and general strikes, and those who prepared consumer boycotts to shut down the country.

If we are feeling charitable (and today we are), we might even be thankful that we didn't have a more effective coup effort. The fact Trump was meeting with Michigan Republican leaders this late was a sign of incompetent planning. One reason we maintained such optimism was the coup plotters failed to put together and carry out any organized plan. Jared Kushner was scrounging for a legal team on election night and its legal team never put forward a cogent argument. The political strategy of telling lies didn't translate to political organizing of any coherent approach that would result in Trump staying in office. Ultimately, Trump never seizedpower; he just said he'd stay in power.

This is consistent with Trump's ability to control narrative. He's good at claiming dramatic headlines, poor at the detailed follow-through. A coup in the US is made much harder because political power is widely distributed in local and state governments and courts — and those systems showed their independence from Presidential sway. We want to thank people in those systems who defended that independence — poll workers, election officials, electorates, and all those who kept our election system trustworthy.

We are thankful for those that stood against party line to do the right thing. Despite a polarized climate, a slew of Republicans slapped down Trump's plans. It was a Republican PA judge Matthew Brann who slammed Guliani's legal strategy, rejecting every aspect of their claim. GOP leaders in the state houses of PA and MI explicitly rejected Trump's strategy to endorse alternate state electors — and were true to their word on that. Republican leadershelped kill PA's Election Integrity Commission. Despite pressure, threats to his family, and perhaps a career-ending move, Van Langevelde, a member of Michigan's board of state canvassers and who works for Republicans in the Statehouse, followed the law and voted to certify Michigan's results. And election officials on both sides of the aisles have made clear this was a clean election.

We note this because the polarized rhetoric rarely notes how many people "from the other side" played their role appropriately. Whereas Democratic actors faced no push-back from their base for not supporting the coup, Republicans were tested and faced repercussions. 

We will keep being vigilant until this election is over. We are confident Trump will continue with outrageous headline-grabbing behavior (as we drafted this letter Trump grabbed headlines for his tweet to pardon Michael Flynn and a call-in to a PA GOP event doubling down on his claims the election was rigged). We encourage people to reclaim the space Trump has occupied in their heads and not be click-baited by the outgoing commander-in-chief. 

We will be offering one more webinar to celebrate and share what we've learned about protecting and strengthening our democracy going forward. Please stay tuned.

There are fundamental issues that need addressing. We witnessed a scorched-earth policy, a mass refusal to push-back on falsehoods, and a withering attack on democracy. It is not going away. The distrust and distortions have taken root in much of the country's psyche. So we thank all of you who are preparing for the fights ahead (even as Choose Democracy fully expects to close shop on January 21st, having done our job on helping stop a coup).

For this weekend, it's okay to exhale.

And so we thank you — supporters, friends, colleagues. Those of you who signed the pledge and did your part to be brave enough to prepare for the worst. This was a big lift held by many people.

Choose Democracy

Our fight- Resist

It was a Coup in Bolivia, and Honduras, Facilitated by the OAS and the Trump Administration

Laura Carlsen, 

Experts at MIT recently concluded that there is no statistical evidence of fraud in the results of the Bolivian presidential elections last October. These findings debunk an earlier report by the Organization of American States (OAS), which were used to justify a right-wing coup d’etat in the Andean nation.

“All in all, the OAS’ statistical analysis and conclusions would appear deeply flawed,” the researchers, John Curiel and Jack R. Williams of the Election Data and Science Lab, wrote in the Washington Post. They added that the incumbent, Evo Morales, very likely garnered more than the 10 percent margin needed to avoid a second round vote.

The announcement has caused an international uproar.

The OAS mission’s report alleging “intentional manipulation” to favor Morales’ re-election led to an insurrection by the Bolivian armed forces and ultra right parties, as well as violent conflict in the streets. To date, an interim government headed by a minor member of parliament, Jeanine Añez, remains in power. Scores of pro-Morales protesters were killed in the mayhem that ensued after the regional organization called into question the legitimacy of the electoral process and ignited the chain of events that led to the coup.

As it turns out, Bolivia isn’t the only election where the OAS has played a role in steering results, rather than monitoring and assuring democratic practice.

An analysis of recent election observation missions and statements by Secretary General Luis Almagro reveals a disturbing pattern of bias and a willingness to manipulate events and data for political purposes. More broadly, the Secretary General’s revival of Cold War ideology and allegiance to the Trump administration has created a pattern that consistently favors right-wing governments and forces, while attacking or attempting to eliminate the left in power.

This behavior in a regional forum founded to resolve controversy poses a serious threat to democratic practice as well as the self-determination of nations.

Bolivia

The actions of the OAS Electoral Mission in Bolivia, headed by the Costa Rican Manuel González Sanz, triggered a break with the democratic order, leading not only to the coup but the subsequent killings of pro-Morales protesters by security forces, who specifically targeted indigenous supporters of the nation’s first indigenous president.

Indeed, the OAS accusations of “manipulation” in the Bolivian presidential elections catalyzed violent protests and unleashed massive human rights violations. As if awaiting a cue, armed right-wing forces mobilized to overthrow the elected government. The president and vice president, along with other high-level elected officials of the ruling MAS party, were forced to flee when their houses were set on fire and they came under attack.

Just hours after the polls closed, the OAS mission issued a press release before the vote count was finished, followed up two days later by a preliminary report calling into question Morales’ lead of just over 10 percent. The report cited a “hard to explain” pause in the rapid count and other criticisms of the process.

Based on the report, right-wing forces that had hoped to gain power by forcing Morales into a second round of voting, protested. They were joined by some social organizations, staging demonstrations as well as burning buildings. When the armed forces stepped in threatening a coup, Morales resigned to avoid further bloodshed. A government of ultra-right-wing political figures took power, unleashing the attacks on indigenous peoples and Morales supporters.

An earlier analysis of the OAS reports by the Center for Economic and Policy Research showed that the mission provided no proof of fraud, and that the timing and accusations of the report played a critical political role in the subsequent chain of events. On February 27, the study by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab concluded:

“The OAS’s claim that the stopping of the TREP [Transmission of Preliminary Electoral Results] during the Bolivian election produced an oddity in the voting trend is contradicted by the data. While there was a break in the reporting of votes, the substance of those later-reporting votes could be determined prior to the break. Therefore, we cannot find results that would lead us to the same conclusion as the OAS. We find it is very likely that Morales won the required 10 percentage point margin to win in the first round of the election on October 20, 2019.”

By using its electoral mission to rashly question official elections results, the OAS report contributed to mob violence and the fall of the elected government. The openly racist and misogynist rightwing forces that came to power carried out at least one documented massacre of indigenous peoples.

When national and international voices protested the Bolivian coup d’etat, the OAS Secretary General retorted: “Yes, there was a coup in Bolivia on October 20, when Evo Morales committed electoral fraud” — an unsubstantiated assertion that did not express a consensus view within the organization nor even reflect the language of the mission.

Following publication of the expert analysis, the OAS wrote a letter to the Washington Post, complaining that the study “is not honest, fact-based, or exhaustive.” However, the organization has not presented a full scientific rebuttal or specific reasons for its assertion. In view of the doubts and the dire impact, the Mexican government has demanded an explanation from the OAS. Neither the OAS leadership nor the mission have responded to the request.

There are reports that the OAS followed the political dictates of the U.S. government in precipitating the Bolivian coup. The Los Angeles Times reported:

“Carlos Trujillo, the U.S. ambassador to the OAS, had steered the group’s election-monitoring team to report widespread fraud and pushed the Trump administration to support the ouster of Morales. (The State Department denied Trujillo exercised undue influence on the report and said it respects the autonomy of the OAS. Trujillo, through a spokesman, declined a request for an interview.)”

The OAS’s lack of transparency regarding its mission to Bolivia has compounded suspicions. Unlike other election observations, all of which should be included in the OAS public database, the 2019 Bolivia mission does not appear at all. The OAS press office has not responded to numerous queries regarding the omission of the data on the Bolivian mission, including the names of the members and other pertinent information.

Honduras

The November 2017 presidential elections in Honduras provide another example of the OAS’s political agenda. That year, right-wing incumbent president Juan Orlando Hernandez ran despite a ban on his seeking re-election, which was suspended by a highly questionable court ruling that declared the constitution itself unconstitutional.

On election night, after announcing that the opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla had established an “irreversible” lead, the Electoral Tribunal shut down the vote count and later returned to announce the incumbent’s unlikely victory amid massive disbelief. The OAS mission questioned the re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, known as JOH by his initials, and announced the elections too dirty to call. Almagro called for new elections.

By contrast, the Trump administration immediately endorsed the Honduran Electoral Tribunal’s position and congratulated Orlando Herndandez on his supposed victory, while pressuring allies to do the same. Following the U.S. lead, Almagro eventually backed down from his insistence on new elections and accepted the incumbent government.

The Hondurans administration brutally repressed widespread popular protests following the election, leaving more than 30 opposition demonstrators dead. While the direct blame lies with the Honduran government, the OAS’s inability to assure or restore clean elections, and its compliance with U.S. policy causing it to reverse its original position, contributed to the breakdown of rule of law in the country.

Today the political crisis continues to claim lives and forces thousands of Hondurans to emigrate every month.

Dominican Republic 

OAS actions in the Dominican Republic’s botched local elections on February 20 again reveal its bias.

The OAS pressured the island government to adopt an automated voting system that went bonkers on polling day. When Dominicans tried to vote, the names of certain candidates did not appear on the screens in nearly half the precincts. T