LA PAZ (Dispatches) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Sunday he was resigning to ease violence that has gripped the South American nation since his re-election, stating that he is the victim of a "coup”.
Video footage showed clashes on the streets of La Paz and some buildings on fire Sunday night after the military called on Morales to step down and allies deserted him following weeks of foreign-backed riots since the Oct. 20 election.
Morales, in power for nearly 14 years, said in televised comments earlier that he would submit his resignation letter to help restore stability, though he aimed barbs at a "civic coup” and later said police planned to arrest him.
"I am resigning, sending my letter of resignation to the Legislative Assembly,” Morales said, adding that it was his "obligation as indigenous president and president of all Bolivians to seek peace.”
Underscoring the ongoing tensions, Morales later said on Twitter that the police had an "illegal” warrant for his arrest and that "violent groups” had attacked his home.
The departure of Morales, a leftist icon who has put Bolivia’s economic boat on an even keel, is likely to send shockwaves across the region at a time when anti-American leaders have returned to power in Mexico and Argentina.
Vice President Álvaro García Linera also resigned.
Some of Morales’ allies in Latin America decried the turn of events as a "coup,” including Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Argentine President-elect Alberto Fernandez.
Mexico’s government views the resignation of Bolivia’s president as a coup because the Bolivian military had broken with the constitution by pressing him to stand down, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.
Ebrard said his country would offer Morales asylum if he sought it. He said Mexico would not accept a government of "military character” in Bolivia, adding the country would continue to recognize Morales as the legitimate president until his term ends in January 2020.
Nicaragua’s government also came to Morales’ defense, issuing a statement that decried the situation as a coup and a display of "fascist practices.”
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez described Morales as "a protagonist and a symbol of the rights of the indigenous peoples of our Americas.”
Brazilian politician and former president Lula da Silva said "my friend Morales” was removed in a coup, denouncing it as evidence of "an economic elite in Latin America that did not know how to share democracy with poor people.”
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said a coup was carried out "by the joint actions of violent civilians, police personnel who confined themselves to their barracks, and the passivity of the army.”
Russia accused Bolivia’s opposition of unleashing violence and said it looked like the government’s hopes for dialogue had been swept aside by an orchestrated coup.
Moscow has commercial interests in Bolivia where Russia’s state nuclear agency is building a nuclear centre. Morales visited Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin in June, pointing to Bolivian gas and lithium as areas for cooperation.
"We are alarmed by the dramatic development of events in Bolivia where a wave of violence unleashed by the opposition has not allowed Morales to complete his presidential mandate,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
"It is a matter of deep concern that during the domestic political crisis in the country, the government’s readiness to seek constructive solutions through dialogue was swept away by the development of events in the mould of an orchestrated coup.”
The Kremlin called for calm in the country and said it hoped foreign powers would not try to meddle in the crisis.
Bolivia under Morales had one of the region’s strongest economic growth rates and its poverty rate was cut in half.
Pressure had been ramping up on Morales since he was declared the winner of the Oct. 20 election.
General Williams Kaliman, the head of Bolivia’s armed forces, on Sunday said the military had asked Morales to step down to help restore peace and stability after weeks of riots.
Earlier on Sunday, Morales had agreed to hold new elections after a report from the Organization of American States (OAS), which conducted an audit of the Oct. 20 vote, claimed serious irregularities.
The resignations of Morales and his vice president meant it was not initially clear who would take the helm of the country pending the results of new elections.
According to Bolivian law, in the absence of the president and vice president, the head of the Senate would normally take over provisionally. However, Senate President Adriana Salvatierra also stepped down late on Sunday.
Legislators were expected to meet to agree on an interim commission or legislator who would have temporary administrative control of the country, according to a constitutional lawyer who spoke to Reuters.
The riots against Morales - who has helmed Bolivia through a period of relative stability and economic growth - hit the landlocked nation’s economy.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not conceal his joy, welcoming the call for a new vote to "ensure free and fair elections.”
Morales, who came to power in 2006 as Bolivia’s first indigenous leader, had defended his election win but said he would adhere to the findings of the OAS audit.