Bolivia sinks into power vacuum after Morales quits

A power vacuum has opened up in natural gas-exporting Bolivia after longtime president Evo Morales resigned today.

Spain's Repsol, the country's largest private-sector gas producer, told Argus that its operations have not been affected. Other oil companies in Bolivia, including Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras, Russia's Gazprom, France's Total and Shell, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Bolivia exports pipeline gas to neighboring Brazil and Argentina, and has been seeking to establish other regional gas export routes as its traditional markets shrink.

Morales' departure from the presidential palace was swiftly followed by the resignations of vice president Alvaro Garcia Linares, senate president Adriana Salvatierra and chamber of deputies president Victor Borda, wiping out the main constitutional chain of succession. Resignations from Morales' Movement Toward Socialism party (MAS) began snowballing early today, while the police and the military effectively abandoned the executive branch. Among the early departures was hydrocarbons minister Luis Alberto Sanchez.

The congress is expected to meet tomorrow to determine next steps.

Morales, who first took office in 2006 on a resource nationalist platform, declared himself the winner of a fourth term in 20 October elections that the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS) determined to be fraudulent. Violent clashes between supporters of Morales and his main rival Carlos Mesa broke out in Bolivian cities immediately following a tainted vote tally. While Morales' opponents celebrated on the streets of the eastern city of Santa Cruz and other cities today, his supporters in parts of La Paz continued to clash with security forces, alleging a coup. Looting broke out in some areas.

Morales is a close ally of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who is no longer recognized as Venezuela's leader by most Western countries.

The turmoil in Bolivia coincides with unrest in several other Latin American countries, including neighboring Chile where president Sebastian Pinera is vowing to resist demands for his resignation.