Understanding the vacuum of power in Bolivia

By Lucas Berti

In a matter of only three weeks, Evo Morales went from declaring himself the winner of a fourth consecutive term as the President of Bolivia to resigning from his office. The decision was announced hours after the commander of the Armed Forces, General Williams Kaliman, “suggested” Mr. Morales should step down. In Latin America, where military dictatorships only went out of fashion not that long ago, this sequence of events looks, smells, and sounds like a coup d’état.

Just last month, Mr. Morales had won a highly contested election—riddled with fraud, according to the Organization of American States—but violent protests...