Women’s activist Jeanine Anez takes the reins in Bolivia

A women’s rights activist declared herself Bolivia’s ­interim president as its former leader flew into exile.

Jeanine Anez flashes a peace sign at the Bolivian congress in La Paz. Picture: AP

A women’s rights activist and former television presenter declared herself Bolivia’s ­interim president, promising to guide the country out of a deep crisis, as its former leader flew into exile on Wednesday.

Jeanine Anez, 52, was a second-tier opposition figure in the Senate until the resignation of president Evo Morales at the weekend after nearly 14 years in power.

Celebrations and clashes quickly broke out throughout ­Bolivia among supporters and foes of Mr Morales, who arrived in exile in Mexico.

Bolivia’s crisis erupted after elections on October 20 were marred by allegations that Mr ­Morales fixed the results. Violent protests swept the country, leading to police defections and finally a call from the chief of the military for Bolivia’s first indigenous president to ­resign.

Ms Anez wept on Tuesday as she told journalists that she wanted to “give certainty” to Bolivians in the midst of a power vacuum.

“I just want to provide a solution to the horrible crisis that we’re living through,” she said.

Mr Morales landed in Mexico City in a Gulfstream jet belonging to the Mexican Air Force after a circuitous, 15-hour trek across swathes of South America and a night of frantic diplomatic efforts involving officials of at least seven countries.

Mr Morales struck a defiant tone upon arriving in Mexico, saying he was the victim of a coup and pledging to remain active in politics as long as he was alive. “Not ­because of this coup am I going to change ideologically … or stop working for the poor,” he said at Mexico City airport.

Mr Morales’s exit, along with the resignations of the Senate president and other senior leaders, opened the way for Ms Anez to step into the void left by their ­departures. She needed the support of her fellow parliamentarians to ­become Senate president, and there were no guarantees of that in a congress dominated by Morales loyalists.

Still, she assumed the presidency even though there was no quorum for a formal debate on ­accepting Mr Morales’ resignation, and no one to swear her in. Politicians from Mr Morales’s Movement for Socialism boycotted the assembly session.

If it stands up, Ms Anez’s self-proclamation would make her the second woman to become interim president of Bolivia. Lidia Gueiler held that role in 1979 and 1980.

Ms Anez was a lawyer before entering politics and has campaigned against gender violence.

She also worked as a TV presenter and director of the Total­vision station in the city of Trinidad. She belongs to the opposition Democratic Unity party, which is led by Ruben Costas, governor of Santa Cruz province, an opposition stronghold.

In 2006, Ms Anez was elected to an assembly that Mr Morales called to reform the Bolivian constitution after his ascent to power.

AP, The Wall Street Journal