"I am making one of the most difficult decisions of my life, I am going on a hunger strike. I am tired of observing a country without justice or law," Anez said in a letter read out by her daughter on El Deber radio station.
The former president made the decision the day before the beginning of the trial.
In November 2019, former President Evo Morales resigned as head of state and left Bolivia under pressure from the military, after the Bolivian opposition, led by Carlos Mesa, claimed that there had been mass violations during the October 2019 vote.
Power in the country was assumed by former opposition vice-speaker of the senate, Jeanine Anez. Morales called the events a coup. Anez arranged for a new presidential vote, which took place on October 18, 2020. The election was won by Luis Arce from Morales’ Movement for Socialism party.
In March 2021, the police arrested Anez on suspicion of terrorism, incitement to rebellion, and conspiracy in the alleged coup. According to the investigation, she illegally declared herself president of Bolivia in breach of the country’s constitution and laws. Anez has been in jail since then.