BOGOTA, Colombia _ Evo Morales, South America's longest serving president and a towering figure for the region's left-wing movements, resigned after election irregularities triggered weeks of violent clashes and intervention from the armed forces.
"My crime is to be a union leader, to be indigenous," Morales said in his resignation speech, adding that he was the victim of a coup and calling for the international community to investigate.
The nation's top soldier General Williams Kaliman Romero earlier said Morales should step down to restore peace to the country, which has been wracked by chaos since a disputed election last month.
Morales resigned just hours after ceding to pressure to hold new elections. The embattled leader had agreed to the new vote after the Organization of American States published a report saying the Oct. 20 presidential election had been marred by serious irregularities.
Morales took office in 2006, and was lone survivor of the so-called pink tide of leftist leaders that reshaped the continent's politics during the 2000s. Unlike his ally Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, he presided over strong economic growth, rising incomes and falling poverty. But his democratic credentials were questioned after he ignored the result of a 2016 referendum on presidential term limits.
An Aymara Indian in a country historically ruled by a wealthier, white elite, Morales swept to power promising to "nationalize everything." In practice, his Movement Toward Socialism party (MAS) was much more pragmatic.
Morales's vice president also said he would quit. Under the constitution, that means that the head of the Senate, Adriana Salvatierra, becomes interim president. Before he quit, Morales didn't set a date for new elections, and it's unclear when these will be held.
Unrest has convulsed South America in recent weeks, from Ecuador to Chile, amid austerity programs and cuts in social programs and subsidies.
