Evo Morales has accepted an offer of political asylum in Mexico a day after resigning as president of Bolivia amid election fraud protests.
In a tweet, he said it hurt to be leaving Bolivia but he would return with more “strength and energy”.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard confirmed Mr Morales had boarded a Mexican government plane.
Meanwhile, Bolivia’s military commander ordered troops to back up police who have clashed with Morales supporters.
Some 20 people were reported injured in the clashes. Mr Morales earlier urged his supporters to resist the “dark powers” that had forced him to step down.
He also tweeted a photo of what he described as “my first night after leaving the presidency forced out by the coup [organised by opposition leader Carlos] Mesa and [opposition activist Luis Fernando] Camacho with the help of the police”.
The deputy head of the Senate, Jeanine Áñez, has said she will take over as interim president until new elections are held.
Mr Morales, a former coca farmer, was first elected in 2006.
He has won plaudits for fighting poverty and improving Bolivia’s economy but drew controversy by defying constitutional term limits to run for a fourth term in October’s election, which is alleged to have been rife with irregularities.
Up in El Alto, a city that sits high above La Paz in the Andes, life felt like it had stopped.
The cable car that connects the two cities was paralysed, its cabins bobbing in the air in silence. And a normally bustling market place was deserted, stalls shut for fear of looting.
Dania was one of the only shopkeepers willing to take a risk. She needs the money, she says. A supporter of Evo Morales, she says his resignation was nothing short of a coup.
Crossing the market, Lucy Choque makes her way to work through the burning rubber tyres that were set alight overnight. She just wants the whole thing to be over.
Mr Ebrard announced the decision to grant Mr Morales asylum at a press conference. Mexico has a left-leaning government and has supported Mr Morales.
Mr Ebrard earlier described events in Bolivia as a “coup”, citing the military’s involvement in Mr Morales’ resignation.
Pressure had been growing on Mr Morales since his narrow victory in last month’s presidential election. -BBC
