Buenos Aires, March 5 (RHC)-- Argentinean activist and human rights defender Adolfo Perez Esquivel announced that he has nominated the former Bolivian president, Evo Morales, for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.

Perez received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980 thanks to his commitment to defending democracy and human rights against the region's military dictatorships.

"It is an honor for me to inform you that I have nominated Evo Morales Ayma for the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2020," the Argentinian announced on his Twitter account.

In his letter to the Committee, Perez said he proposed the award for "a social leader, the first Indigenous president of Latin America, who managed to implement successful programs to fight poverty, inequality and peace."  "The model of a country with equality, social justice and sovereignty that Evo led must be recognized internationally," he said.

"Evo is also a symbol of resistance against the new Operation Condor (about repressive coordination among militaries in South America in the 1970s led by the United States) that today carries out military, media and judicial coups to outlaw political parties and candidates who achieve high intention of vote because they implement sovereign policies in favor of the people," he stressed.

Evo Morales resigned from the Presidency of Bolivia in the midst of the social upheaval that resulted from the allegations of possible electoral fraud in the October 2019 elections,  which were supported by an audit report by the Organization of American States (OAS).

However, a recent investigation by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and published in The Washington Post stated that there is no statistical evidence to justify the alleged fraud asserted by the OAS that led the country to the political crisis in which it is currently immersed.

The Norwegian Nobel committee accepts all proposals before the deadline of Jan. 31 submitted by one of the thousands of individuals with the ability to launch a candidacy. Among those qualified to do so are parliamentarians and ministers from all countries, former winners, some university professors, or current or former members of the committee.