tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324924622024-03-13T22:13:30.456+11:00Bolivia RisingBolivia's indigenous people are rising up and reclaiming a new homeland.
An exciting national revolution is unfolding in Bolivia today, with its indigenous peoples at its core. The movement to refound Bolivia is an inspiration to many around the world. Bolivia Rising aims to bring news and analysis about this revolution to english speakers.Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.comBlogger1099125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-32145584113211423652015-09-20T16:22:00.002+10:002015-09-20T16:22:45.418+10:00Habeas Coca - Bolivia’s Community Coca Control
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<span style="font-family: ScalaSans;"><i>Linda C. Farthing and Kathryn Ledebur</i></span><br />
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<b>Executive Summary </b><br />
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When Bolivian President Carlos Mesa challenged vocal U.S. opposition in 2004 and legalized the cultivation of small amounts of coca leaf by Bolivian farmers, it marked a sea change in supply-side drug policy in the Americas. Not only had one of South America’s poorest countries asserted national control after 20 years of U.S.-financed repression in its principal coca growing region, but the cato accord, as it was known, ended violent confrontations between police and small farmers. With the accord, coca farmers and their families achieved their longstanding demand to be permitted a subsistence plot of the coca leaf that plays such a central role in their economic survival and in Andean culture.<br />
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Just over a year later, the election of the leader of the coca growers’ union, Evo Morales, to Bolivia’s presidency consolidated the changes heralded with the cato. Under the slogan “Coca yes, cocaine no,” the new government committed aggressive interdiction of cocaine paste<span style="font-kerning: none; vertical-align: 4.0px;"> </span>and cocaine, and announced plans for “development with coca” to industrialize legal products made from the coca leaf. Bolivia also recognized traditional consumption of coca for the first time in its 2009 constitution and pressed for international recognition of the country’s right to consume leaf within its borders, which it won in 2013.</div>
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In 2009, an innovative program known as community coca control was launched. Drawing on high levels of coca grower organization paired with sophisticated technological monitoring, land titling, and economic development, the community control program builds on deeply entrenched cultural values that emphasize the importance of community participation through peasant unions. As shown in Figure 1, Bolivian community coca control mechanisms are multidimensional, with various government entities responsible for implementation. </div>
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Habeas Coca argues that Bolivia’s community coca control program is a cost-efficient and less violent alternative to the forced eradication of coca remains in place in Colombia and Peru.<span style="font-kerning: none; vertical-align: 4.0px;"> </span>Over two decades of eradication policies have proven to be demonstrable failures in all three Andean countries, generating poverty and gross human rights violations. In addition, these failed strategies strengthened insurgent groups in Colombia and Peru—all without meeting their objectives of controlling the coca crop and diminish- ing the illegal cocaine trade.<span style="font-kerning: none; vertical-align: 4.0px;"> </span>While Bolivia’s policy effectively shrank coca cultivation by 26 percent from 2010 to 2013, it is crucial to comprehending the policy’s reach to recognize that it is not designed, nor is it able, to limit drug trafficking. As leaf prices have risen, due in part to the current program, cheaper Peruvian coca and its derivatives have flooded through Bolivia to cocaine consuming and transit countries, such as Brazil. Demand, not supply, drives the drug trade, and originates almost completely outside Bolivia’s borders.</div>
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Bolivia’s initiative seeks primarily to reduce harm to coca growers by substituting the police- and military-driven forced eradication model with one that actively engages growers as citizens and increases the participation of farmers in determining their communities’ futures. The model is most effective in areas where residents support the current government, and needs further consolidation in areas without strong government influence, and where coca grower union organizations are in conflict with each other. </div>
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In President Evo Morales’s region, the Chapare, the combination of the new approach with other government policies, has dramatically cut the number of coca farmer deaths and injuries related to forced eradication efforts, and has facilitated coca growers diversifying their sources of income. The initiative is structured around negotiation and the recognition of local organizations as partners, guaranteeing farmers a subsistence wage. This is combined with establishing their legal identities as registered coca growers, which in turn generates a newfound sense of citizenship rights that engages growers themselves in limiting coca cultivation and aids in producing transparent, verifiable results. </div>
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The result is a program that the Organization of American States calls a “best practice... (worthy of) replication.” European Union (EU) Ambassador to Bolivia, Timothy Torlot, described the program as “...a success; you can see the impact in the effective and sustained reduction of coca production... the European Union’s first relatively promising supply-side pro- gram that broadly reflects the harm reduction principles in place in some countries on the efforts have on curtailing the demand for illicit drugs. </div>
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Effective, pragmatic drug policy reform must move beyond the traditional yardsticks of eradication, seizures, and arrests, to more genuine, valid indicators such as respect for human rights, social welfare of affected populations, economic stability, citizenship, rule of law, demilitarization, positive engagement with the civilian state, transparency, and the ability to effectively monitor and measure impact and sustainability. </div>
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<i>Continue reading the rest of the report <a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/Bolivia%20Report-Habeas%20Coca-US-07-06-2015-corr1.pdf">here</a></i></div>
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Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-15523921269488534712015-09-16T09:03:00.002+10:002015-09-16T09:04:14.460+10:00Operation Naked King: U.S. Secretly Targeted Bolivia's Evo Morales In Drug Sting<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<em><span style="color: black;">A confidential informant says the DEA had its sights set on Bolivia's populist leader.</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="color: black;">Ryan Grim & Nick Wing</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">The United States has secretly indicted top officials connected to the government of Bolivian President Evo Morales for their alleged involvement in a cocaine trafficking scheme. The indictments, secured in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sting called "Operation Naked King," have not been previously reported.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Morales, a former leader of Bolivia's coca growers union, has long been at loggerheads with the DEA. In 2008, Morales expelled the agency from the country and embarked on his own strategy of combatting drug trafficking, acknowledging the traditional uses of coca in Bolivian culture and working cooperatively with coca growers to regulate some legal activity and to promote alternative development elsewhere. </span>Morales' plan has been effective at reducing cultivation, according to the United Nations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">But that doesn't mean the DEA accepted its eviction quietly. In fact, the agency went after members of Morales' administration in an apparent effort to undermine his leadership.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The sealed indictments, revealed last week in a lawsuit filed by long-time DEA informant Carlos Toro, target Walter Álvarez, a top Bolivian air force official; the late Raul García, father of Vice President Álvaro García Linera; Faustino Giménez, an Argentine citizen and Bolivian resident who is said to be close to the vice president; and Katy Alcoreza, described as an intelligence agent for Morales. Toro said in the court document that he played an integral role in securing the indictments as part of the DEA's undercover investigation into the alleged Bolivian cocaine trafficking ring, which the agency ran out of its office in Asuncion, Paraguay.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Toro filed suit against the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in September, asking for $5 million in unpaid compensation for his more than 25 years of work for the DEA. A one-time senior official with the Medellin cartel, he went public about his career in a series of interviews with The Huffington Post, and subsequently with CBS News. He has been involved in the investigation, arrest or prosecution of major figures, from Colombian drug trafficker Carlos Lehder to Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, to top members of Mexican cartels. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Spokespeople for the State Department, Department of Justice and DEA declined to comment. However, previous media reports in the region have accused top officials in the Morales administration of being involved in international cocaine trafficking. Rene Sanabria and Oscar Nina, both former top anti-drug officials in the Morales administration, have been arrested for drug trafficking. Nina was arrested this March and Sanabria was arrested in Panama and extradited to the U.S. in 2011; his defenders suspect the arrest was politically motivated.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">This week, the Obama administration announced that it's planning to officially "decertify" Bolivia -- a bureaucratic move which amounts to an accusation by U.S. officials that Bolivia is not sufficiently cooperative in combating drug trafficking. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Morales <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1745937813" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Tuesday</span></span> addressed the decision to withhold U.S. funds for drug control purposes, calling it a political maneuver by a nation committed to ineffective anti-drug tactics.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">"I think it is a political action exerted by the State Department of the United States," he said during a press conference at the government palace, according to an English translation of a report in Bolivia's La Razon. "But if we are honest, U.S. policy is a failure in the fight against drug trafficking in the world."</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Morales went on to tout Bolivia's recent successes in reducing coca production, and cited Colombia -- which has, according to the United Nations, seen a significant increase in coca cultivation over the past year, despite U.S. support -- as an example of U.S.-backed failure.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">"I could mention many countries in the world where there is this problem and how it has grown with U.S. presence," the president said. "They're using the fight against drug trafficking for clear political purposes."</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">While the White House identified Colombia as a major illicit drug producer, it wrote that the nation has "demonstrate[d] highly effective leadership in countering illegal drug trafficking and transnational crime," calling the country a "strong partner on counternarcotics." As evidence, the administration pointed to high levels of recent crop eradication and drug seizures.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Morales and the DEA have a long history of animosity. Morales, a member of the Aymara indigenous group and a one-time coca grower, first rose to power in Bolivia as the head of a federation of coca growers unions. The union gained much of its strength by organizing in response to human rights abuses carried out by the DEA-backed anti-drug group known as UMOPAR, starting in the 1980s. In 2005, Morales led nationwide protests that toppled the government of former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Morales became president himself in 2006, and has twice been re-elected by wide margins. When he was first campaigning, Bolivians in the coca-growing region of the Chapare, where the president got his start, recalled his rise as a response to the U.S.-led drug war. Jaimie Rojas, then a 74-year-old newspaper vendor in Villa Tunari, a town in the Chapare, had known Morales since he was in his early 20s. "He was able to unite the people and have them all turn back UMOPAR," he said of Morales</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in a 2005 interview.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The war made the American government's intentions clear to the people of Chapare. Behind the war on drugs there are other interests. Interests in natural resources, and in dismantling the unions in the Chapare," </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">said Feliciano Mamani, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">a leader in Morales' political party and a coca grower.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Many indigenous Bolivians, including Morales, defend coca production as a traditional right. After all, Bolivians have used coca leaves in a variety of ways for thousands of years. But coca is also the essential ingredient in cocaine, and the nation's close relationship with the plant has made it the world's third-largest producer of the drug, behind Peru and Colombia.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The U.S. government and the DEA made no secret of their displeasure when their longtime nemesis, Morales, was elected. “If radicals continue to hijack the indigenous movement, we could find ourselves faced with a narcostate that supports the uncontrolled cultivation of coca," General James T. Hill, a U.S. army commander with the Southern Command, told the House Armed Services Committee in March 2004, referring to Morales' movement. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I don't think there's an attractive or viable future by becoming a narcostate," John Walters, then the Bush administration's drug czar, </span>told The New York Times<span style="font-weight: 400;"> the next year, when it appeared Morales was on his way to victory. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Morales used the accusations to his political benefit. "They accuse me of everything," Morales said at a campaign rally, according to the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">same Times article.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> "They say Evo is a drug trafficker, that Evo is a narcoterrorist. They don't know how to defend their position, so they attack us."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">There is a running joke in Bolivia and other Latin American countries that goes like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">Q: Why has there never been a military coup in the United States?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">A: Because there's no U.S. embassy in the U.S.</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: black;">In September 2008, Morales made sure there wouldn't be one in Bolivia, either, and kicked U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg out of the country.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then, that November, Morales expelled the DEA, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">arguing that the agency</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> had committed human rights violations, covered up murders and was routinely using its investigative powers to target politicians and movement leaders who were challenging Washington's neoliberal agenda. Morales had made a campaign promise to nationalize the country's natural gas resources and use the proceeds to develop the economy from the bottom up.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">Responding to Goldberg's dismissal, a State Department spokesman said at the time, "The only overthrow we seek is that of poverty … No country has ever improved the well-being of its citizens by antagonizing neighbors and refraining from fruitful integration with the world’s democracies." </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yet under Morales, Bolivia has boomed -- with much of the benefit accruing to the very poor -- in a stunning success story.</span> </span></span><span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">By 2014, the Times was writing about Bolivia's renaissance: </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">Tucked away in the shadow of its more populous and more prosperous neighbors, tiny, impoverished Bolivia, once a perennial economic basket case, has suddenly become a different kind of exception — this time in a good way.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Its economy grew an estimated 6.5 percent last year, among the strongest rates in the region. Inflation has been kept in check. The budget is balanced, and once-crippling government debt has been slashed. And the country has a rainy-day fund of foreign reserves so large for its relatively small economy that it could be the envy of nearly every other country in the world. </span>The Times article notes that extreme poverty under Morales has plummeted, despite -- or, more likely, because of -- his refusal to follow the path the U.S. has urged.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The country's triumph comes as it faces a foe greater than neoliberalism, however. La Paz, which sits some 13,000 feet above sea level, depends on the snowmelt from the surrounding mountains for its survival. As a result of climate change, the snowpack is disappearing.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the face of U.S. denunciations that Bolivia would become a narcostate under Morales, the country has instead managed to reduce coca leaf cultivation, especially over the past five years. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, total production of dried coca leaf </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">fell 11 percent</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from 2013 to 2014, and has fallen by an </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">average of nearly 10 percent</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> each year since 2011. Interdiction efforts targeting coca cultivation have also dropped precipitously since the DEA's dismissal in 2008, though confiscations of cocaine continued to rise until 2013, when they dropped off significantly. In 2014, confiscations of processed cocaine hydrochloride returned to previous levels, though interdiction of coca leaves and cocaine base remained low.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">"[Drug trafficking] must be fought -- we are convinced of that -- and we are doing so more effectively and more wisely," Morales told Al Jazeera in a 2014 interview. "When the United States was in control of counternarcotic<wbr></wbr>s, the US governments used drug trafficking for purely geopolitical purposes .... The US uses drug trafficking and terrorism for political control .... We have nationalised the fight against drug trafficking."</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2009, Hillary Clinton warned of</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Morales and the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's "fear mongering" in written testimony during her secretary of state confirmation hearings. Yet Morales' fears, it turns out, weren't rooted in mere paranoia. The DEA was, in fact, out to get him.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The revelation of Operation Naked King goes to show that Bolivian leaders' paranoia was well justified, said Kathryn Ledebur, who runs the Andean Information Network based in Bolivia. "US authorities frequently dismiss Bolivian government denunciations about the DEA and US intervention as absurd speculation, but these revelations show what is common knowledge on the ground — there has long been an alarming lack of oversight of DEA operations in Latin America, including recurring mission creep and a violation of agreements with host countries," she wrote in an email.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="color: black;">"Even before Morales’s election, high-ranking US officials warned his policies on coca and drug control and rejection of American policy dictates would plunge Bolivia into drug trafficking chaos. Yet, without the DEA or US funding, Bolivia has consistently improved its track record, with the lowest coca crop in the region and credible interdiction policies. There’s a lot of cognitive dissonance for US drug warriors, and in this case, it appears some worked to make their predictions appear true."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Republished from </em><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/operation-naked-king-evo-morales_55f70da2e4b077ca094fdbe1?section=australia&adsSiteOverride=au"><em>Huffington Post</em></a></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;"></span><br />Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-70715524558288932852015-09-15T06:39:00.001+10:002015-09-15T06:39:22.666+10:00Is Vice President Garcia Cracking Down on Dissent in Bolivia? <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">While respecting their right to criticize government policies, Garcia said foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations needed to understand their place within Bolivian society. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> Recent statements by Bolivia’s Vice President Alvaro Garcia regarding nongovernmental organisations in Bolivia have triggered off a heated debate on the left. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> At an Aug. 11 media conference, Garcia accused NGOs of acting like political parties seeking to interfere in Bolivia’s domestic affairs. While respecting their right to criticize government policies, Garcia said foreign-funded nongovernmental organisations needed to understand their place within Bolivian society.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The former guerilla and left-wing academic said: “Does this group of comrades have the right to form an NGO and produce and publish what they want? Of course they have the right, but foreign NGOs do not have the right to come to Bolivia and say they support Bolivia’s development while they do politics and defend the interests of transnationals.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He highlighted the fact that foreign companies and governments were the biggest backers of NGOs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“What do we say to them?” he asked. “Finance in your own country, there is no need for you to come and interfere in our country. Our relationship with foreign governments and companies is very clear: service in function of our policy and usefulness in function of a sovereign state; but not for the purposes of covert political action …” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Garcia Linera said foreign governments were using NGOs to push policies that sought to stunt Bolivia’s development under the guise of protecting the environment. The vice-president singled out four NGOS that have been among the loudest critics of his government’s environmental policies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In response, more than 200 academics from across the world signed an open letter expressing concern for what they viewed as “threats, which if they became a reality, would imply a grave blow in terms of restricting civil rights, among them, freedom of expression and association”. They said Garcia Linera's real issue with the four NGOs was their criticisms of his government’s shortcomings.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Continue reading <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/NGOs-in-Bolivia-Is-VP-Garcia-Linera-Cracking-Down-on-Dissent-20150911-0013.html">here</a></i></span>Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-49961237918539686552015-09-09T07:40:00.002+10:002015-09-09T07:50:59.673+10:00Call to action - “World People’s Conference on Climate Change and Defence of Life”, Tiquipaya, Bolivia<div style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 18px; text-align: justify;">
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CONVINCED that as children of Mother Earth, our mission is the responsibility with Life according to what our parents and grandparents taught us.</div>
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FEELING that the codes, understanding, knowledge and arts of the ancient peoples from the world were ignored by Western civilization and that now the world needs to rescue all the ancient and ancestral wisdom to restore balance and harmony to Mother Earth.</div>
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AWARE that the most serious global threats facing us in the defence of life are related to climate change, and that this issue threatens our very existence as well as Mother Earth, our water, our land, our forests and our food.</div>
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UNDERSTANDING the validity and importance of the findings within the Peoples Agreement of the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, held in April 2010 in Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, Bolivia; and considering the need for an assessment of what we have achieved since then as well as the need to coordinate our different struggles and strategies for the defence of life.</div>
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RECOGNIZING that Pope Francisco in the encyclical “Laudato if” (Thy Name Be Praised) delivered us a message that inspires us to continue our struggle, promoting the care of a communal home through the union of the whole human family and the search for sustainable and comprehensive development, simultaneously taking care of nature and respecting the delicate balances among all living beings that live in this world.</div>
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UNDERSTANDING that Paris COP21 shall promote the signing of a new agreement on climate, so that we, the peoples of the world, have to raise our voices again to offer our own visions and solutions to climate change.</div>
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REGRETTING that after more than 20 years we have not been able to establish any meaningful international agreement on climate change, and the fact that in COP21 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is intended to look as an agreement to pretend a global consensus and ambitious commitments from countries, hiding that in reality it does not want to affect the structural causes of climate change.</div>
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CONCERNED about the misuse of technology to address the issue of climate change, like in geo-engineering and solar radiation. On the contrary, they create enormous risks for Mother Earth, and transfer the solution to climate change to a technological approach and the wrong vision about humans dominating above nature.</div>
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ASSUMING that if we fail to build a universal culture of life, we will only contribute to the destruction of the future of our children and our children’s children.</div>
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AWARE of the importance of finding and building joint spaces between leaders of social movements, academics, scientists, government officials and representatives from all continents to agree on proposals for COP 21 Paris and take our responsibilities for the health of our Mother Earth and our own lives.</div>
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<b>THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA</b>, calls, invites and summons the peoples and nations of the world to the “World People’s Conference on Climate Change and Defence of Life” to be held in Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, Bolivia, from October 10 to 12, 2015, to discuss the following topics:</div>
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<b>Threats of capitalism against life</b></div>
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<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The agenda of capitalist interests against life. Transnational enterprises and capitalist interests endanger the health of the land, food, water and forests through actions that cause diseases, pests and death of living beings.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Threats against life: Geopolitical wars of the empires to distribute our lands and territories. The military machinery of the North has been busy destroying entire villages in an effort to seize the strategic natural resources, feeding the financial architecture of capitalism and the industry of death.</li>
</ol>
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<b>The construction of Living Well and the paths of fife</b></div>
<ol>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The paths of Living Well as an alternative to capitalism. Living Well in harmony with Nature is in essence the only possible universal way of life.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth to resist capitalism. Just like human beings are recognized in their rights, all beings must be respected in their rights under the Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth, as an instrument to resist capitalism.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Knowledge, practices and technologies of the peoples for climate change and life. Capitalism promotes modern technologies that come from the business and the private sector, Peoples should strengthen ancient and millennial technologies for life.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The defense of our common heritage. The peoples strongly defend our natural resources and common heritage from those who trade with life in the name of protecting nature.</li>
</ol>
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<b>Climate change and the culture of life</b></div>
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<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Climate sciences at the service of life. In the face of misleading scientific reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about causes and impacts of climate change, we need to rescue and build our science about Climate Change.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>International Court of Climate Justice and Life. The world requires of an international organization to make us responsible for LIFE and with the fulfillment of commitments that countries should assume for its comprehensive protection.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mechanisms for non-commodification of nature. Capitalist countries have proposed internationally, market mechanisms as a cynic proposal to solve climate change, so we must promote mechanisms and instruments for the non-commodification of nature.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Capitalism debts: climate debt, social debt and ecological debt. Capitalist countries have produced a set of debts to the peoples; humankind and Mother Earth and they must begin to pay, starting with the climate debt.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Interreligious dialogue to save Mother Earth. The religions of the world struggle with a message of peace and dialogue, to solve the climate crisis, to the global capitalist system that destroys our community values.</li>
</ol>
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<b>Continuing in the path of the defense of Life</b></div>
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<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Evaluation of the achievements and advances of Tiquipaya and the peoples’ voice for the COP21 of Paris about climate change. Evaluate the Tiquipaya Conference and raise again our voice proposing our own solutions for climate change and the negotiations of countries in United Nations.</li>
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To the peoples and social organizations of the world, it belongs us better and join all our forces, move from our towns to defend life and Mother Earth, rebuild the culture of life, the living well and the harmony with nature.</div>
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<b>EVENT PROGRAM</b></div>
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<li style="color: #323333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Opening plenary (in the morning of the 1st day)</li>
<li style="color: #323333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Organisation of 12 working groups (The working groups will take place in the afternoon of the 1st day and in the morning of the 2<sup>nd</sup> day)</li>
<li style="color: #323333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Intergroup plenaries (during the afternoon of the 2<sup>nd</sup> day)</li>
<li style="color: #323333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Presentation of results in general plenary (in the morning of the 3rd day)</li>
<li style="color: #323333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Meeting with government representatives and international organisations (during the afternoon of the third day)</li>
<li style="color: #323333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">Closing ceremony </li>
</ul>
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<b>Additional events</b></div>
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The event includes the following additional events:</div>
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<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; text-align: justify;">Discussion panels with topics to be defined.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; text-align: justify;">Peoples fair for life, including expositions of participants about different subjects expressing their vision on climate change and the defence of life.</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; text-align: justify;">Performance of artistic and cultural expressions.</li>
</ul>
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The participation in the additional events will be with previous registration of interested people and acceptation by the organizers.<b> </b></div>
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<b>Previous activities</b></div>
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Prior to the event the following activities are to be held:</div>
<ul>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; text-align: justify;">Online Distribution of the preliminary document (September 1 to September 20)</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; text-align: justify;">Online registration of participants to the event (September 1 to September 30)</li>
<li style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; text-align: justify;">Twelve online discussion panels, one for each topic, with a moderator to organize the discussion on the preliminary document and inputs from the working group (September 15 to October 1).</li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #424242; font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">For more information in English visit </span></span><a href="http://www.jallalla.bo/en/">http://www.jallalla.bo/en/</a></div>
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Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-3672317446727161342015-08-19T11:18:00.002+10:002015-08-19T11:18:45.474+10:00Bolivia: Tiquipaya will host World Peoples Summit on the Environment between October 10-12<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 9.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 9.0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">President Evo Morales and leaders of the Bolivian Workers Central
(COB) and the National Coalition for Change (CONALCAM) announced on Tuesday
that Tiquipaya, in the department of Cochabamba, had been chosen to host the
Summit for the Environment and Life set for October 10-12.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“We first debated the call for a World Summit for the Environment
and in Defence of Live that will be held in Tiquipaya from October 10 to 12
this year,” said the vice-minister for coordination with Social movements
Alfredo Rada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The government authority said that the next international event
would be a kind of “Tiquipaya II” given that the first World Summit of the
Peoples in Defence of Life was held there. The idea is to give continuity to
the policies put forward five years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">For his part, the main leader of the COB Juan Carlos Trujillo
announced that a document was being prepared between the government and the
social movements to “raise awareness about Bolivia’s position of looking after
human life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“We see how the empire, how capitalism has generated social
crisis, a global environmental crisis, global warming and how this is affecting
humanity and workers. That is why it is important for us to speak out and prepare
a document jointly between president Evo Morales, the COB, and national
federations and confederations, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">According to official sources, the resolution developed by social
movements at the October meeting will be presented as a regional proposal to COP20
which is set to be held in Paris, France.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Translated from <a href="http://cambio.bo/tiquipaya-ser%C3%A1-sede-de-la-cumbre-mundial-por-el-medio-ambiente-del-10-al-12-de-octubre">Cambio</a></i></span></div>
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Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-6703101695903782802015-08-10T12:01:00.000+10:002015-08-10T12:01:12.078+10:00How rejecting neoliberalism rescued Bolivia's economy<br />
<i>Federico Fuentes</i><br />
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The small Andean nation of Bolivia has received praise from many quarters due to the economic transformation it has undergone over the past decade. </div>
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Curiosity regarding this conversion from “economic basket case” to the fastest growing economy in the region has been heightened by the fact it occurred under left-wing president Evo Morales. Understanding how the Morales’ government achieved this transformation is of great interest for those seeking an alternative to crisis-ridden neoliberalism. </div>
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Before Morales’ election in December 2005, Bolivians suffered through 20 years of neoliberalism. Successive right-wing governments privatised state-owned companies and handed over control of important chunks of the state to international financial institutions. </div>
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As public revenue shrank, the country entered a vicious cycle of deficits and debt. Each new budget required further international loans that were always accompanied by greater restrictive conditions. International loans and aid ended up covering about half of Bolivia’s public investment. </div>
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However, since electing their first indigenous president in a nation with a majority of previously excluded indigenous peoples, Bolivians have experienced economic growth rates higher than any period during the past three and a half decades. </div>
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At the same time, inequality has been greatly lessened and public debt brought under control. These successes are the result of the government’s overall strategy of focusing on recovering sovereignty over the economy and state.</div>
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Continue reading <a href="https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/59730">here</a></div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-50147811802305731562015-08-01T08:12:00.000+10:002015-08-01T08:12:00.453+10:00The Pope’s message in Bolivia and to the world: Report by a Canadian participant<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
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<b>Introduction</b></div>
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<i>by Richard Fidler</i></div>
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In retrospect, it must be said that the College of Cardinals made an astute decision in 2013 when they chose Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as the Vicar of Christ. Pope Francis, as he is now called, has emerged as a world leader in speaking out on the major social and humanitarian issues ranging from climate crisis to poverty and social exclusion. </div>
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Francis, the first Pope from the Western Hemisphere, is especially popular in Latin America, where the Church of Rome is contending with burgeoning evangelical sects and emerging secular movements around such issues as abortion and gay rights. </div>
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Early on in his papacy, Francis indicated his close affinity with President Evo Morales and the “Process of Change” that Morales and the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) are spearheading in Bolivia. When the initial World Meeting of Popular Movements was held at the Vatican in October 2014, Morales was the only elected head of state who attended.</div>
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In December, following the failure of the United Nations Cop20 climate talks in Lima to take meaningful actions to prevent catastrophic climate warming, Morales urged the environment ministers of the ALBA countries to organize a “world encounter of social movements” in 2015 that would develop “a proposal to save life and humanity.”[1]</div>
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It seems that the Pope’s scheduled visit in July to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay — three relatively peripheral nations with large Indigenous populations — became the occasion for this encounter. The Bolivian government and its supporting popular movements collaborated with the Vatican and the social movement organizers of the First World Meeting to organize a Second World Meeting, this time in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Held July 7-9, it drew 1500 participants. It coincided with the Pope’s 48-hour visit to Bolivia, and was the major event of both his visit and the meeting of the popular movements. </div>
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The Pope’s <a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-speech-at-world-meeting-of-popular-mo" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">closing speech at the Santa Cruz assembly</a>, a powerful statement of identification with the major objectives of the social agenda being pursued, unevenly, by the social movements and a few progressive governments of Latin America, continues to be cited and debated in the Bolivian media. </div>
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Among the 1500 participants at the Santa Cruz meeting gathering were two Canadian women: Susana Deranger, an Indigenous environmental activist from Regina, and Judith Marshall of Toronto, recently retired after two decades working on global labour exchange through the Steelworkers Humanity Fund. Judith contributes the following guest column reporting on their experiences in Santa Cruz and analyzing with insight the ways in which Pope Francis is helping to advance a progressive global agenda among broad circles seldom reached by the traditional left.[2]</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: medium;">Pope Francis and the Protagonism of the Excluded</span></b></div>
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<b><i>by Judith Marshall</i></b></div>
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Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has arguably become the most articulate and critical leader of today’s global institutions. He is fearlessly and forthrightly tackling the urgent questions of our times. </div>
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His much-anticipated Papal Encyclical on climate change, <a href="http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Laudato Sí</a>, does not disappoint. He tackles the “structurally perverse economic system” that creates a world of obscene rich-poor disparities. He makes a damning critique of a global economic system in which power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of the few while the many struggle for basic needs. He calls attention to how the poor and excluded have become, in effect, the discards from the game plans of the rich. </div>
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Pope Francis is forthright about how the global economic system and the throw-away culture it has spawned are destroying not only the lives of the poor but also the planet itself, turning the earth into “an immense pile of filth.” </div>
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Pope Francis is now well-known for speaking out on global issues — Syrian war refugees, hunger, migration of Africans to Europe, austerity politics, Cuba. Less well-known are his organizational initiatives, many carried out jointly with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, headed by Cardinal Peter Turkson. Reaching out organizationally to the poor and excluded is one of the most striking initiatives. </div>
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In 2013, the leaders in the Landless People’s Movement (MST) in Brazil began to hear signals that Pope Francis was interested in building working links with popular movements. [3] As Bishop Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Francis had been a constant figure among poverty activists, building strong ties with precarious workers and the solidarity economy. </div>
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Argentine activists like Juan Grabois, a lawyer based in the University of Buenos Aires who is on the coordinating committee of the Confederation of Popular Economy Workers, are long-time collaborators with Pope Francis. Grabois and other popular movement leaders like Joao Pedro Stedile from the MST were invited to the Vatican for consultations. </div>
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An initial seminar was organized at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Rome in December 2013 to focus on global inequalities as experienced and understood by the excluded themselves. Plans were made for a larger gathering. </div>
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The First World Meeting of Popular Movements with more than 150 participants took place in Rome in October 2014. Grabois and Stedile, working with Via Campesina, became the co-organizers. They identified more than 100 activists around the world working on three key issues — land, housing and work. These activists from amongst the poor and excluded were invited to come to Rome to be heard and seen. They brought with them a broad plurality of religious beliefs, ethnic origins, gender, age and sexual orientations. The church co-organizers did not vet the activists list. Their own list included thirty bishops known for accompanying and support to struggles of the poor. A dozen representatives of labour and rights organizations vetted by the activists were also invited, myself included. </div>
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Undoubtedly the most striking memory of the first meeting was the day when our motley crew invaded St. Peter’s Basilica. Meeting with us in the Old Synod Hall, Pope Francis thanked the participants, acknowledging them as men and women who actually suffered poverty and exclusion in the flesh. He told them that their presence in Rome had huge importance. The fact that the poor existed was known by all. The fact that the poor were on their feet, organized, active, planning, inventing, and resisting — this was what was new and made visible for all to see by their presence. </div>
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He focussed on the fact that the poor were not waiting with arms crossed for either NGOs or governments to solve their problems. Their protagonism was strong and creative. While some of it was simply to survive, in many cases, the survival strategies had in them the seeds of new ways of living on the planet, with greater social solidarity and more care of the earth. </div>
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<b>Popular Movements Gather in Bolivia</b></div>
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The much-expanded Second World Meeting of Popular Movements held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia followed the same organizational logic as in Rome, It was a gathering to listen to the poor and discarded themselves, their stories of exploitation and exclusion but also their plans and strategies and proposals, We were to meet on the final day with Pope Francis who had committed himself to take these voices and proposals of the poor with him when he addresses the United Nations next September. Happily the organizers readily agreed to the inclusion of an indigenous delegate from Mother Earth Action Cooperative in Regina. </div>
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Land, housing and work had been the overarching themes in Rome. In Bolivia these became the “3 Ts” of Tierra, Trabajo and Techo, rendered not quite so happily from Spanish into English as the “3 Ls” of Land, Labour and Lodging. The approach to these basic themes was broadly conceived. The theme of labour, for example, differed strikingly from the very narrow conception that prevails all too often in trade union circles. </div>
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In Rome last October, a million people had flooded the streets the day we arrived for the first meeting, protesting austerity budgets. In Italy, the youth unemployment figure stood at 40%. In neighbouring Greece, it was even higher. Poverty and discarded people are not just a phenomenon of the South. Whole generations of young people in Europe are being sacrificed in the name of re-stabilizing the economic system. </div>
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At the Bolivia meetings, the reality of colonial conquest and the endemic poverty of Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas were highlighted. Holding the meeting in the “Plurinational State of Bolivia” where Evo Morales is the first elected Indigenous head of state made a powerful statement in and of itself. The participants came from situations where loss of livelihoods through land grabs by mining or agro-business companies are common, where precarious work is endemic, where situations of migrant labour, guest labour, temporary labour and even slave labour and trafficking are prevalent. </div>
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Susana and I got an unexpected call to address the plenary during the first day. A surprise visit by Evo Morales resulted in cancellation of the scheduled discussions in smaller groups. Testimonials from the participants were substituted. Susana got the opportunity to put First Nations issues in Canada on the agenda, from residential schools, missing and murdered Indigenous Peoples, and resource extraction on Indigenous Territories. I got the chance to highlight the role of big mining, companies like Barrick and Vale today operating in a tight embrace with national governments in the North and the South to carry out widespread destruction of both ecosystems and livelihoods. To the surprise of the Latino delegates, Susana spoke in Spanish, an acquisition from living and working in Latin America, and I spoke in Portuguese, acquired after many years of work in Mozambique and Brazil. </div>
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The two of us had been housed with the church delegation. Cardinal Turkson, who is originally from Ghana, joined us for breakfast on the second morning, and we were able to tell him about the thousands of Indigenous children in Canada who 1had been torn from their families and communities and forced into Church-run residential schools where they were deprived of their languages and cultures — the last school closing in 1996 in Saskatchewan. We also told him of the sexual abuse and torture in many schools. We spoke to him of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, its conclusion naming cultural genocide and its recommendation that the Pope be invited to Canada to apologize for the Catholic church. Cardinal Turkson listened with attention and compassion. </div>
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Being housed and transported around Santa Cruz with the church delegation left me with different impressions of how the initiatives of Pope Francis play out in his own institution. The speech in Ecuador was being watched on TV during supper the first night. Every time Pope Francis made a strong point, cheers erupted around the table, almost as if a ref had shouted “goal.” A fellow priest from Argentina revelled in Francis’ transformation from the quiet, dedicated Bishop of Buenos Aires into a fearless, prophetic voice on the world stage. For those who lamented the demise of liberation theology, Pope Francis brought hope of its reincarnation. I asked some of the church delegates about how Pope Francis’ reaching out to the poor on the periphery was resonating in their parishes. Their responses left me with the impression that for many, it was pastoral care for the faithful as usual rather than hearing a radical call for systemic change and taking on new roles, reaching out to accompany and support the protagonism of the poor. </div>
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After two days putting together our perspectives on the questions of land, housing, work, global warming and peace, the participants prepared a statement of our concerns and proposals. We presented this document to Pope Francis during a meeting with him at the Santa Cruz Expo Fair on the final day where our contingent of 1500 had been joined by another 1000 activists from Bolivia. </div>
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His legendary simplicity and humanity were once again in evidence in Santa Cruz. The huge trade fair auditorium had constructed a walled off aisle down the middle through which he would enter. The participants vied for seats close to the shoulder-high wall with the hope that they might reach out and touch Pope Francis’ hand. When he passed by our section, a Latino activist across the aisle from us held out a calabash gourd of mate tea with metal straw. Pope Francis paused and took a sip, to the utter delight of the participants, and possibly to the absolute horror of those responsible for his security! </div>
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Bolivia was the second stop on a visit to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, each fraught with delicate politics among church, state and civil society actors. Despite a grueling schedule, Pope Francis gave <a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-speech-at-world-meeting-of-popular-mo" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">a lengthy and powerful address to the popular movements</a>, full of love and encouragement for the poor and excluded who were gathered, lauding them for the importance of their struggles and their care of Mother Earth. </div>
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He ended by challenging the popular movements to make a decisive and shared contribution to three great tasks. The first was </div>
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to put the economy at the service of people. Human beings and nature must not be at the service of money. Let us say NO to an economy of exclusion and inequality, where money rules rather than service. That economy kills. That economy excludes. That economy destroys Mother Earth.</blockquote>
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The second great task was to “unite our people on the path of peace and justice.” He spoke of the world’s people wanting to be “artisans of their own destiny. </div>
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They do not want forms of tutelage or interference by which those with greater power subordinate those with less. They want their culture, their language, their social processes and their religious traditions to be respected. No actual or established power has the right to deprive peoples of the full exercise of their sovereignty.</blockquote>
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He talked of historical restrictions on independence through colonialism and contemporary restrictions on sovereignty through a new colonialism driven by corporations, loan agencies, “free trade” agreements and “austerity” agendas. </div>
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The third great task he charged the popular movements with taking on was defence of Mother Earth. </div>
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Our common home is being pillaged, laid waste and harmed with impunity. Cowardice in defending it is a grave sin. We see with growing disappointment how one international summit after another takes place without any significant result.... We cannot allow certain interests — interests which are global but not universal — to take over, to dominate states and international organizations and to continue destroying creation.</blockquote>
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<b>Apology to Indigenous people for Church’s Role in “Conquest” of the Americas</b></div>
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The most startling moment in the speech came as Pope Francis developed the theme of old and new colonialisms. He did not spare his own institution. </div>
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Some may rightly say, “When the Pope speaks of colonialism, he overlooks certain actions of the Church.” I say this to you with regret; many grave sins were committed against the native peoples of America in the name of God.</blockquote>
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After referencing acknowledgement of this by some of his predecessors, Pope Francis went on to say “I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offenses of the Church herself, but also for crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America.... </div>
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To our brothers and sisters in the …Indigenous movement, allow me to express my deep affection and appreciation of their efforts to bring people and cultures together... in a form of coexistence … where each group preserves its own identify by building together a plurality which does not threaten but rather reinforces unity. Your quest for an interculturalism, which combines the defense of the rights of the native peoples with respect for the territorial integrity of states, is for all of us a source of enrichment and encouragement.</blockquote>
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Susana had travelled to Bolivia tasked by her fellow-activists in Canada with lobbying the Pope to visit Canada and apologize for residential schools. She was seated in the front row when this unexpected and totally forthright admission of guilt was made. The apology and request for forgiveness for the role of the Catholic church in the conquest of the Americas had her jumping to her feet and joining others in embraces of joy. Susana later reflected on the experience: </div>
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I never thought I would hear these words in my lifetime. It was extraordinary. I know many will say that these are only words and that there is still much work ahead such as rejecting the Papal Bull along with the Doctrine of Discovery and Terra Nullius. This is true, but the Pope’s words are a first step. His words were not just read off a piece of paper. They seemed genuine. Let’s embrace the hope. Let’s move with the passion and hope he comes to Canada to meet with the same people he met with in Rome — the grassroots, the poor, the people on the front lines, and those affected the most by the colonialism he asks forgiveness for.</blockquote>
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<b>Pope Francis and Global Organizing</b></div>
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On their return to Rome, Pope Francis and Cardinal Turkson embarked on yet another organizational initiative, taking on the contentious question of mining. They had already engaged in conversations with mining company executives in 2014 and will do so again later this year. This time, they worked very closely with “Iglesias y Mineria” (Churches and Mining), a network of about 70 Latin American Christian base communities that have been accompanying communities affected by mining for many years. </div>
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The gathering was entitled “United with God, we hear a cry.” It was hosted in Rome by Justice and Peace from July 17-19 and attended by community leaders from mining areas in Asia, Africa and Latina America. In a <a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-writes-to-the-participants-in-the-meeting" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">hard-hitting message to the opening session</a>, the Pope urged the participants to “to echo the cry of the many people, families and communities who suffer directly and indirectly as a result of the consequences, too often negative, of mining activities.” He spoke of </div>
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a cry for lost land; </blockquote>
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a cry for the extraction of wealth from land that paradoxically does not produce wealth for the local populations who remain poor; </blockquote>
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a cry of pain in reaction to violence, threats and corruption; </blockquote>
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a cry of indignation and for help for the violations of human rights, blatantly or discreetly trampled with regard to the health of populations, working conditions, and at times the slavery and human trafficking that feeds the tragic phenomenon of prostitution; </blockquote>
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a cry of sadness and impotence for the contamination of the water, the air and the land; </blockquote>
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a cry of incomprehension for the absence for inclusive processes or support from the civil, local and national authorities, which have the fundamental duty to promote the common good.</blockquote>
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The Pope called on the mining industry “to effect a radical paradigm change,” listing the many who needed to heed this call: </div>
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A contribution can be made by the governments of the countries of origin of multinational companies and those in which they operate, businesses and investors, the local authorities who supervise mining operations, workers and their representatives, the international supply chains with their various intermediaries and those who work in the markets of these materials, and the consumers of goods for whose production the minerals are required. All these people are called upon to adopt behaviour inspired by the fact that we constitute a single human family, that everything is interconnected, and that genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others.</blockquote>
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While the mining activists gathered in the Salesian Conference Centre to testify to the destructiveness of extractivism, the Pope was engaged in yet another organizational initiative among the powerful. As another follow-up to <i>Laudato Si</i>, the Vatican had invited 60 mayors from around the world (including Gregor Robertson of Vancouver) to a two-day conference aimed at keeping the pressure on world leaders before December’s climate talks in Paris. The conference’s final declaration, <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/07/21/mayors-of-worlds-cities-demand-leaders-take-bold-steps-on-climate-change.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">reports the <i>Toronto Star</i></a>, demands that national leaders take bold steps in Paris, possibly “the last chance to keep the Earth’s warming levels still safe for humanity.” It states that “human-induced climate change is a scientific reality and its effective control is a moral imperative for humanity.” </div>
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California Governor Jerry Brown had won applause earlier when he denounced the climate change deniers in the US who are “bamboozling the public and politicians.” Stockholm Mayor Karin Wanngard said the Paris talks must take fossil fuels off the table. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, a founding member of an alliance of world cities committed to an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 or sooner, characterized the months until the Paris summit as a sprint to the finish line during which it would be necessary to “take every local action we can…to maximize the chance that our national governments will act boldly.” </div>
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<b>Globalizing Resistance, Globalizing Hope</b></div>
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What are the most striking features of these gatherings in which Pope Francis is reaching out to the excluded and linking their fate to the fate of our common home? </div>
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First, perhaps, is the strength and forthrightness of his language, abandoning the diplomatic posture and deference to the powerful that has characterized the Papacy in times past. Pope Francis does not hesitate to lay the blame for global poverty and exclusion on corporate greed, irresponsible banks and international financial institutions, a culture of consumerism and individualism, a worship of money and a loss of compassion and humanity. </div>
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He names the inverted logic that normalizes societies being sacrificed to stabilize the economy, as in contemporary Greece, and calls for economies to be organized so that they safe-guard the well-being of society. Activists in popular movements derive hope and courage when a world leader of Pope Francis’ stature and integrity names the world as they experience it. </div>
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We discovered in Bolivia how challenging it was to craft a popular movement statement in which we were not outflanked to the left by the Pope! While <a href="http://movimientospopulares.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Letter-of-Santa-Cruz-english.pdf" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">our Santa Cruz statement</a> contained important points, my first take on it found it a little prosaic, especially compared to the pungent prose, scope and challenges of the Pope’s speech. Susana reminded me, however, of how far-reaching it was: </div>
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The unity it called for and committed to was inspiring. They said when something goes down in one country, they will all stand up. They also said that they must turn to Indigenous Peoples to learn how to take care of Mother Earth….</blockquote>
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Another striking aspect of these meetings is the framing of the issues The exploration of global poverty and exclusion through the lenses of land, labour and housing, with care of our common home as a cross-cutting theme, is instructive. Faced with the global reach and seeming impunity of transnational corporations, and their willingness to discard most of the world’s people from their game plans with full connivance of national governments, all concepts are up for redefinition. Take the theme of work, for example. At the First World Meeting, in Rome last October, the opening presentation on the theme of labour was expressed not in ILO parlance about decent jobs and labour rights but about cardboard recyclers in Argentina, many of them “illegal” migrant workers from Bolivia. </div>
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In Buenos Aires, they had been scavenging refuse, working in dangerous and dirty conditions for middle-men who bought the cardboard or plastic for a pittance and made profit from it by having a monopoly on transport and marketing. These cardboard recyclers had organized themselves into a cooperative and managed to take over the recycling business. Now they earn a little more, have proper recycling carts, uniforms with reflective tape for safety, a modicum of health benefits and the contacts with the buyers including Danone, which buys up the plastic for yogurt containers. </div>
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It is a far cry from a full-time, secure, well-paid, pensioned job. It is, however, work that feeds families and meets a basic need of Buenos Aires for recycling. The workers themselves are the protagonists who made it happen and control it. They are still poor but have regained a measure of dignity. They know the Pope well from times past when he both supported their cooperative and sorted out the red tape for baptizing their children. They were much in evidence again during the event in Bolivia, promoting the idea of a popular economy with autonomous groups inventing ways to provide for their own basic needs through self-employment. </div>
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The discussions on work left me with all the questions that movements in Latin America and organizations like Syriza in Greece or Podemos in Spain throw up. What does work look like when your starting point is a basic needs agenda and how to provide your citizens with food, water, housing, transport, education, health care — and income-generating activity? </div>
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Clearly any notions of “limitless growth” need to be set aside definitively. The same for any “development” fantasy that, with enough time and investment, all people on the planet can — or should — attain the material consumption levels of the 1%. Are there important lessons to be learned from aboriginal cultures or from peasant cultures about simpler ways of living on and caring for the earth? </div>
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Another striking theme from the two meetings is the moral project being promoted by Pope Francis and the centrality of human beings themselves. How much have we normalized the ideological trappings of neoliberalism that suggest that human beings are genetically competitive and greedy, hard-wired to be individualistic? How much have we internalized the idea that “having” more is “being” more, with annual acquisition of the latest Nikes or “smart” phone or tablet as the measure? What if “being” more is actually “having” more — being more compassionate, being more collective, being more in tune with Mother Earth? </div>
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Pope Francis locates these questions and their answers squarely in Christian teachings. Chilean social scientist Marta Harnecker <a href="http://lifeonleft.blogspot.ca/2015/06/marta-harnecker-on-new-paths-toward.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">in her new book on 21<sup>st</sup>Century Socialism</a>, “A World to Build,” locates them in the classic Marxist texts about “integral human development” and “human beings as social beings.” She holds out a vision of the 21<sup>st</sup> century socialism in the imaginary and actual practice of several countries in Latin America. It is a socialism built from the bottom up by collectivities of socialists, women and men, elders and youth, as active participants and protagonists in their own rural communities, urban neighbourhoods, workplaces and classrooms. It is a vision of robust democratic spaces where citizens assume responsibility jointly for initiatives and projects to create the social life around them and to care for the earth that sustains them. </div>
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Another striking theme from the meetings was the reality of social exclusion as a global feature of contemporary capitalism. To be exploited is still to be integrated into the system, albeit negatively. Contemporary capitalism, however, expands and creates profitable enterprises and global supply chains while excluding and discarding more and more of the earth’s population, dispossessing them of their lands, their water, their air, their traditional livelihoods. It creates sacrifice zones from Detroit to Damascus, from rural wastelands to urban slums.</div>
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Some of the popular movement leaders are seeking to theorize more adequately this new protagonism of the poor and the importance of social movements as new social actors. Juan Grabois has recently written an essay entitled “Exclusion in Contemporary Capitalism.” He speaks as a Latin American from a generation forged not from fighting against military dictatorships as in Brazil, dirty wars as in Argentina, or a US-backed coup against an elected socialist head of state as in Chile. His generation grew up after the “democratic transition” and lived through the full-blown capitulation of government after government to the neo-liberal mantras of deregulation, privatization, cuts in social sector spending. </div>
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The consciousness of my generation was born as wave after wave descended into the hell of exclusion. We saw our fathers lose their employment and never get another job. We saw our mothers go out to look for chicken carcasses in the shops to fill the cooking pot. We saw the plague of drugs, depression and alcoholism destroy families and damage lives until this became part of the landscape. Those living in the shantytowns and working class neighbourhoods suffered these things in their own flesh — or in the flesh of their brothers who, frightened to death by their own “insecurity,” watched from the barred windows of their middle class homes as people rummaged in garbage cans in search of scraps of food.[4]</blockquote>
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Grabois argues that his generation was forged at a moment in history when the labour power of the proletariat was of little or no interest to capital. The political education of his generation came not through striking industrial workers but through the struggle for the basics, forged on picket lines of the unemployed, soup kitchens of the hungry, informal settlements of the homeless, occupations of abandoned factories by workers, barricades of peasant farmers confronting land grabs, occupations by indigenous communities fighting for their territories. </div>
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These new forms of exploitation operate through a wall of exclusion. People were first dispossessed of their land. Then they were dispossessed of their jobs in factories. As Occupy Wall Street made starkly visible, 99% of humanity today lives on the side of this wall characterized by poverty, homelessness, with jobs that are at best precarious, dangerous, without legal protection. </div>
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Grabois goes on to argue that an important new social actor is being formed from this historical moment, an actor that has been dispossessed of land and livelihood but refuses to cease struggling. Barricades and blockades against mining companies are a good example. Many of the struggles focus on resolving basic needs for land and housing and for work that generates enough income to feed a family. </div>
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The poor and discarded are inventing forms of self-employment, cooperatives and worker-owned factories. The robust popular economy that has emerged in Argentina is one example of this new protagonism. The solidarity economy network that was constructed in Greece to withstand the extremities of the austerity measures is another. The community resistance from below that makes South Africa the protest capital of the world is part of the same phenomenon. </div>
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These initiatives of Pope Francis provide an opportunity for the Church and the world to listen to the voices of the poor and excluded. They give visibility to the iniquity of a global system that discards human beings as waste. For activists in the popular movements, these initiatives not only globalize resistance. They also globalize hope. </div>
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[1] For major excerpts of Evo Morales’ address at the COP20 summit, see “<a href="http://lifeonleft.blogspot.ca/2014/12/bolivia-to-host-2015-meeting-of-social.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Environmental Destruction is a Result of the Capitalist System</a>.” ALBA, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, seeks to consolidate regional economic integration based on a vision of social welfare. Initiated by Venezuela and Cuba in 2004, it now includes 11 member countries. </div>
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[2] Judith Marshall reported on the First World Meeting of Social Movements, which she also attended as an invitee, in <a href="http://links.org.au/node/4172" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">this article</a> first published in <i>Links, International Journal of Socialist Renewal</i>. Another recent article by Marshall is “<a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2015/04/Monitor_Apr2015.pdf" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Contesting big mining from Canada to Mozambique</a>.” </div>
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[3] See the recent article by Joao Pedro Stedile, Landless People’s Movement, Brazil, entitled “<a href="http://www.alainet.org/en/articulo/170716" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">The Importance of a Historic Reaching Out: Pope Francis and the Popular Movements</a>.” </div>
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[4] “La exclusión en el capitalismo contemporáneo,” in <i><a href="http://www.alainet.org/sites/default/files/alai505w.pdf" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Francisco y los movimientos populares: Tierra, Techo y Trabajo</a></i>.</div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-49762193894131406032015-07-23T00:51:00.001+10:002015-07-23T00:52:07.462+10:00Why the Media Distorts Bolivia's Environmental Record <br />
<i>Federico Fuentes</i><br />
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When Bolivian President
Evo Morales announced in May that his government was allowing oil and
gas drilling in national parks, mainstream and progressive media outlets
alike were quick to condemn his supposed hypocrisy on environmental
issues. <br />
<br />
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: <br />
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english</div>
<div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
When Bolivian President
Evo Morales announced in May that his government was allowing oil and
gas drilling in national parks, mainstream and progressive media outlets
alike were quick to condemn his supposed hypocrisy on environmental
issues.
Writing for the Associated Press, Frank Bajak argued that although known
internationally for his outspoken campaigning on climate change, at
home Morales faces constant criticism from conservationists “who say he
puts extraction ahead of clean water and forests.”
Bajak said this contradiction was a result of Morales’ strategy of
developing extractive industries as a means for reducing poverty,
irrespective of the environmental cost.
Along a similar vein, Emily Achtenberg wrote on the NACLA website that
Morales’ announcement highlighted a central contradiction his government
faces: having relied on oil and gas to finance successful
redistributive programs, his government now finds itself “at odds with
indigenous, environmental, and other civil society organizations who
argue that extractivism destroys nature and communities ...”
Oddly however, none of these media outlets have devoted a single article
to how the Bolivian government has presided over what is arguably one
of the most remarkable environmental achievements in recent years. <br />
<br />
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: <br />
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times;">When Bolivian President
Evo Morales announced in May that his government was allowing <span style="color: #1a1a1a;">oil and gas drilling in </span>national parks, mainstream
and progressive media outlets alike were quick to condemn his supposed
hypocrisy on environmental issues. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Times;">Writing
for the Associated Press, Frank Bajak </span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">argued</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Times;"> that although known internationally
for his outspoken campaigning on climate change, at home Morales faces constant
criticism from conservationists “who say he puts extraction ahead of clean
water and forests.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Times;">Bajak
said this contradiction was a result of Morales’ strategy of developing
extractive industries as a means for reducing poverty, irrespective of the
environmental cost.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Times;">Along
a similar vein, Emily </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Achtenberg </span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">wrote</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Times;"> on the NACLA website that
Morales’ announcement </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">highlighted a central contradiction his
government faces: having relied on oil and gas to finance successful
redistributive programs, his government now finds itself “at odds with
indigenous, environmental, and other civil society organizations who argue that
extractivism destroys nature and communities….”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times;">Oddly however,
none of these media outlets have devoted a single article to how the Bolivian
government has presided over what is arguably one of the most remarkable
environmental achievements in recent years.....</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times;">..... Continue reading at <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html">TeleSUR in English </a></span><br />
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When Bolivian President
Evo Morales announced in May that his government was allowing oil and
gas drilling in national parks, mainstream and progressive media outlets
alike were quick to condemn his supposed hypocrisy on environmental
issues.
Writing for the Associated Press, Frank Bajak argued that although known
internationally for his outspoken campaigning on climate change, at
home Morales faces constant criticism from conservationists “who say he
puts extraction ahead of clean water and forests.”
Bajak said this contradiction was a result of Morales’ strategy of
developing extractive industries as a means for reducing poverty,
irrespective of the environmental cost.
Along a similar vein, Emily Achtenberg wrote on the NACLA website that
Morales’ announcement highlighted a central contradiction his government
faces: having relied on oil and gas to finance successful
redistributive programs, his government now finds itself “at odds with
indigenous, environmental, and other civil society organizations who
argue that extractivism destroys nature and communities ...”
Oddly however, none of these media outlets have devoted a single article
to how the Bolivian government has presided over what is arguably one
of the most remarkable environmental achievements in recent years. <br />
<br />
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: <br />
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english</div>
<div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
When Bolivian President
Evo Morales announced in May that his government was allowing oil and
gas drilling in national parks, mainstream and progressive media outlets
alike were quick to condemn his supposed hypocrisy on environmental
issues.
Writing for the Associated Press, Frank Bajak argued that although known
internationally for his outspoken campaigning on climate change, at
home Morales faces constant criticism from conservationists “who say he
puts extraction ahead of clean water and forests.”
Bajak said this contradiction was a result of Morales’ strategy of
developing extractive industries as a means for reducing poverty,
irrespective of the environmental cost.
Along a similar vein, Emily Achtenberg wrote on the NACLA website that
Morales’ announcement highlighted a central contradiction his government
faces: having relied on oil and gas to finance successful
redistributive programs, his government now finds itself “at odds with
indigenous, environmental, and other civil society organizations who
argue that extractivism destroys nature and communities ...”
Oddly however, none of these media outlets have devoted a single article
to how the Bolivian government has presided over what is arguably one
of the most remarkable environmental achievements in recent years. <br />
<br />
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: <br />
<a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Why-the-Media-Distorts-Bolivias-Environmental-Record-20150722-0016.html</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english</div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-18183655310428710082015-07-13T08:42:00.003+10:002015-07-13T08:43:09.485+10:00Bolivia Takes its Case to International Court: Why Now?<em style="color: #424242; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif;"><br /></em>
<em style="color: #424242; font-family: Ubuntu, sans-serif;">Ronald Bruce St John</em><br />
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The perennial Bolivian quest for a sovereign Pacific port took a surprising turn in April 2013 when the Evo Morales administration instituted proceedings before the International Court of Justice at The Hague, calling on it to rule that Chile had an obligation to negotiate an agreement with Bolivia granting it sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean.</div>
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In the latest development, in opening arguments in early May Chile called on the Court to rule that it does not have jurisdiction over the territorial dispute with Bolivia that began in the nineteenth century. The Chilean representative argued that the 1904 Treaty of Peace and Friendship settled the border dispute definitively more than a century ago.</div>
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Bolivia lost its access to the sea during the War of the Pacific (1879-1883), and since that time, it has pursued a variety of remedies to end its landlocked status. Recently, separate but related issues came together to persuade the Morales government that now was the right time to take its case to the ICJ in what is an audacious and high-risk strategy.</div>
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Legally, Bolivian authorities feel they have put together a convincing case in support of their argument that the ICJ has jurisdiction in the dispute. Outlined first in <em>El Libro del Mar</em> (2014), Bolivia clearly and effectively presented its case in the May opening arguments. The outcome of <em>Maritime Dispute (Peru v. Chile)</em> in which Peru had asked the ICJ to delimit Peru’s southern maritime boundary with Chile, using the equidistance method, strengthened Bolivian resolve to bring its case before the Court. In January 2014, the Court issued a judgment largely in favor of Peru, encouraging Bolivia to think it could also be successful before the Court after multiple other initiatives to resolve its dispute with Chile had failed.</div>
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Bolivia continues to face the constraints imposed by the 1929 Tacna and Arica Treaty and Additional Protocol that stipulate that neither Chile nor Peru can cede to a third state any of the territories over which they were granted sovereignty in the 1929 treaty without the prior agreement of the other signatory. After the War of the Pacific, Chile occupied the Peruvian provinces of Tacna and Arica until 1929 when Chile and Peru agreed to split them, returning Tacna to Peru and Chile keeping Arica.</div>
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Peru’s veto power over any Chilean proposal to cede part of Arica to Bolivia, and Chile’s veto power over any Peruvian attempt to cede part of Tacna, mean that Peru will be involved in any conceivable solution to the Bolivia-Chile dispute. This complication has scuttled prior attempts to negotiate sovereign Bolivian access to the sea, notably the so-called Charaña talks in 1975-1978.</div>
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<strong>The Economic Implications</strong></div>
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Control over economic resources, not just boundaries, lies at the core of the Chile-Peru maritime dispute since the waters off the Pacific coast contain important fisheries and potentially significant hydrocarbon and other seabed resources. If Bolivia were granted a sovereign Pacific port between Chile and Peru, presumably with some level of offshore fishery and seabed rights, it would complicate the Chile-Peru dispute because the maritime boundary drawn by the Court in <em>Maritime Dispute (Peru v. Chile)</em> would have to be redrawn to accommodate Bolivian interests.</div>
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Independent studies have suggested that Bolivia’s GDP would have been as much as 20% higher if it had not lost access to the sea. The Bolivian government has estimated its GDP would increase 1% per annum if it had direct access to the Pacific. Although estimates can be questioned, Bolivia clearly is a prisoner of geography and will remain at an economic disadvantage vis-à-vis its neighbors as long as it does not enjoy freer access to markets and new technologies.</div>
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Currently the Treaty of Peace and Friendship (1904) allows Bolivia to use Chilean ports, but Bolivia has long argued that Chile is unnecessarily restrictive even though the ports of Antofagasta, Arica, and Iquique are important outlets for Bolivian mineral exports to Asia and the United States. In contrast, Bolivian natural gas, the country’s largest export, moves via pipeline from gas fields in Tarija to Argentina and Brazil, but not to Chile.</div>
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Export of gas through Chile is a controversial issue in Bolivia. Widespread social protest forced Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada from office in October 2003 after he announced plans to export gas to the United States through Chilean ports. His ouster helped pave the way for the election of Evo Morales to the presidency in 2006. In 2004, a referendum supported by Morales banned the sale of gas to Chile until the latter granted Bolivia sovereign access to the sea.</div>
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Bolivia has the second-largest gas reserves in Latin America, and its energy sector is vital to the country’s economy. With Argentina and Brazil developing their own gas reserves, the future of Bolivia’s gas industry could well be tied to Chile. Chile also would benefit economically from a resolution of the dispute, as Chile would gain greater access to Bolivia’s agricultural, gas, and mining sectors and possibly its freshwater resources. Bolivia also has the world’s largest lithium deposits, so both mining and gas could be especially important to the future of both countries.</div>
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<strong>Why Now?</strong></div>
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Politically, Bolivian politicians have used the port issue for decades to generate domestic support. Although President Morales won reelection by a wide margin in 2014, his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) has suffered losses in more recent gubernatorial and mayoral elections. Consequently, critics of the decision to take the issue to the ICJ have suggested that the move is a nationalist play to booster the government’s sagging popularity. In a May 2015 interview, Sergio Bitar, the former senator representing Chile’s northern region bordering on Bolivia and Chile, claimed that Morales had “made a major mistake in taking the issue to The Hague.” adding, “Morales may have gained domestic support, but Chile views Bolivia’s actions as adversarial.”(1)</div>
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However, there is little empirical evidence to substantiate this point of view. Although Bolivia did not take the case to the ICJ until April 2013, the Morales administration began preparing its case more than two years earlier, when it formed the National Council on Maritime Claims and the Strategic Office on Maritime Claims (DIREMAR, by its Spanish initials). At this time, Morales’ popularity was on the upswing.</div>
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The Morales administration has addressed the issue with far greater skill and professionalism than earlier governments who were primarily interested in short-term political gain. President Morales has portrayed the issue as a national cause, beyond ideological differences, and he has sought the counsel and support of former presidents and foreign ministers, among others. Former President M. Eduardo Rodriguez Veltzé (2005-2006) was appointed Agent before the ICJ and former President Carlos Diego Mesa Gisbert (2003-2005) is responsible for sharing the Bolivian case with the international community. Both men have been deeply involved in developing and presenting the Bolivian case. In short, the Bolivian initiative before the ICJ appears to be a serious team effort, and although President Morales stands to gain politically if Bolivia succeeds, the Bolivian initiative does not appear to be designed to further the political goals of a single individual or movement.</div>
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<strong>Regional Implications</strong></div>
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Regionally, the Bolivia-Chile dispute has had a polarizing effect on their respective regional communities, the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of America (Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América-ALBA) and the Pacific Alliance since both parties have sought support from the member states of these regional groupings. Tensions between the two states also has spilled over into other international organizations, like the Organization of American States and the United Nations, with both Bolivia and Chile aggressively seeking international support for their positions.</div>
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In addition to its negative impact on regional cooperation and integration, the Bolivia-Chile dispute has hampered Bolivian opportunities to take advantage of changing economic realities in the region. The southern leg of the Initiative for Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA), a multi-national, $37 billion initiative to support regional integration, effectively bypasses Bolivia, linking Brazil to the Pacific Ocean through several Peruvian ports.</div>
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Bolivia also has not been part of recent discussions between Brazil, China, and Peru to build a new railway that will cross South America, linking the Atlantic to the Pacific. Bolivia tried to join the railway discussions, but there is little enthusiasm outside Bolivia for the Morales administration’s proposal to reroute the railway through Bolivia and terminating at the Peruvian port of Ilo. In 1992 and again in 2010, the Peruvian government agreed to lease Bolivia land for a duty-free port and industrial park at Ilo, but the agreement was never ratified and Bolivia has done little to date to develop the port as a conduit for Bolivian trade.</div>
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<strong>High Stakes for Bolivia</strong></div>
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The Morales administration is engaged in a high stakes game that Bolivia cannot afford to lose. An interrelated group of challenges and opportunities came together at the onset of this decade to persuade the Morales administration to do something no other Bolivian government had ever done — take the nation’s quest for a sovereign Pacific port to the International Court of Justice at The Hague.</div>
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In preparing its legal case, Bolivia reached out to a wide range of diplomats, politicians, and scholars to build domestic and international support for what could well be its best and last opportunity to achieve this goal. The result is a well-prepared and well-argued case that has a good chance of succeeding.</div>
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But Chile remains adamant in denying the claim. Over a year ago, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet invited her four predecessors to La Moneda in a collective show of support for the 1904 treaty.(2) The Chilean government maintained that position throughout the run-up to the opening arguments before the Court in May. Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz, in a speech to the VII Summit of the Americas on 12 April 2015, emphasized: “Chile has no pending issues with Bolivia. They were resolved in 1904 when both countries in the Treaty of Peace and Friendship established their borders in perpetuity.”(3) If the Court declines jurisdiction in the case or rules against Bolivia, Chile will likely see the Court’s decision as a vindication of its position and resist any further discussion of the issue with Bolivia.</div>
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The Court is expected to rule sometime this fall on the question of whether or not it has jurisdiction in the case. If it decides that it does, Bolivia and Chile will be invited to return to the Court to present oral arguments on why Bolivia thinks Chile has a legal obligation under Article XXXI of the Pact of Bogotá to negotiate sovereign access to the Pacific. This entire process, if it moves forward, will likely take another 3-5 years.</div>
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<em>Ronald Bruce St John has been a student of Andean politics since he first visited Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru in 1968 in the course of researching a Ph.D. dissertation on Peruvian foreign policy. His most recent book on the region is Toledo’s Peru: Vision and Reality (University Press of Florida, 2010). He is a contributor to the Americas Program www.cipamericas.org</em></div>
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<i>Republished from <a href="http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/15340">Americas Program</a></i></div>
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<strong>Notes:</strong></div>
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1) “Why Is Bolivia Still Suing for Access to the Pacific Ocean?,” <em>Latin American Advisor</em>, May 26, 2015, <a href="http://latinamericaadvisor.org/2015/05/26/why-is-bolivia-still-suing-for-access-to-the-pacific-ocean" style="color: #ef4933; text-decoration: none;">http://latinamericaadvisor.org/2015/05/26/why-is-bolivia-still-suing-for-access-to-the-pacific-ocean</a>.</div>
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2) Charlotte Karrlsson-Willis, “Ex presidents to Bachelet: Challenge ICJ jurisdiction in Bolivia case,” <em>The Santiago Times</em>, May 15, 2014, <a href="http://santiagotimes.cl/ex-presidents-bachelet-challenge-icj-jurisdiction-bolivia-case" style="color: #ef4933; text-decoration: none;">http://santiagotimes.cl/ex-presidents-bachelet-challenge-icj-jurisdiction-bolivia-case</a>.</div>
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3) “La protesta de Muñoz contra la intervención de Morales: ‘Chile no tiene asuntos pendientes con Bolivia,’” <em>La Tercera</em>, April 12, 2015, <a href="http://www.latercera.com/noticia/politica/2015/04/674-625119-9-la-protesta-de-munoz-contra-la-intervencion-de-morales-chile-no-tiene-asuntos.shtml" style="color: #ef4933; text-decoration: none;">http://www.latercera.com/noticia/politica/2015/04/674-625119-9-la-protesta-de-munoz-contra-la-intervencion-de-morales-chile-no-tiene-asuntos.shtml</a>.</div>
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Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-45362864443533507092015-06-01T10:49:00.004+10:002015-06-01T10:49:54.890+10:00Bolivia's Morales Wants FIFA Scandal to Be Discussed at the EU-CELAC Summit <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Bolivian President Evo Morales says the FIFA corruption scandal must be
addressed at the upcoming CELAC-EU summit. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Bolivian President Evo Morales said
the recent corruption scandal involving leaders of the international soccer
organization (FIFA) should be discussed at the upcoming European Union
(EU)-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit to be held
in Brussels on June 10-11. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">During a press conference Saturday, the Bolivian leader
described the corruption scandal as unacceptable, stating “I do not understand
how this is possible. This is why I am asking that the issue be discussed at
the CELAC-EU conference; the issue must be addressed.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Morales, an avid soccer
fan and semi-professional player, went on to criticize the reelection of FIFA
president Joseph Blatter. The 79-year-old Blatter, who has not been indicted
but may be implicated in the investigation, won the controversial reelection
Friday at FIFA’s Congress in Zurich, Switzerland. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">“Blatter won the election but
football lost,” Morales stated. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Blatter is currently not named in the
indictment of FIFA officials and denies any personal involvement in alleged
acts of bribery, however the 2011 FIFA Presidential Election – which Blatter
won – is named as one of the incidents in question. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Meanwhile, Ecuadorean
President Rafael Correa also took time Saturday to weigh in on the FIFA
scandal, stating, “In my opinion, this is something terrible and extremely
embarrassing, especially because six of the individuals whom were arrested were
from Latin America and the Caribbean: It is embarrassing for the region.” <br />
<i><br />
Republished from <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivias-Morales-Says-EU-Latin-America-Meet-Must-Discuss-FIFA-20150531-0010.html">TeleSUR</a></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bolivian President Evo
Morales says the FIFA corruption scandal must be addressed at the
upcoming CELAC-EU summit.
Bolivian President Evo Morales said the recent corruption scandal
involving leaders of the international soccer organization (FIFA) should
be discussed at the upcoming European Union (EU)-Community of Latin
American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit to be held in Brussels on
June 10-11.
RELATED: 'Rampant, Systemic and Deep-Rooted' Corruption at FIFA
During a press conference Saturday, the Bolivian leader described the
corruption scandal as unacceptable, stating “I do not understand how
this is possible. This is why I am asking that the issue be discussed at
the CELAC-EU conference; the issue must be addressed.”
Morales, an avid soccer fan and semi-professional player, went on to
criticize the reelection of FIFA president Joseph Blatter. The
79-year-old Blatter, who has not been indicted but may be implicated in
the investigation, won the controversial reelection Friday at FIFA’s
Congress in Zurich, Switzerland.
“Blatter won the election but football lost,” Morales stated.
Blatter is currently not named in the indictment of FIFA officials and
denies any personal involvement in alleged acts of bribery, however the
2011 FIFA Presidential Election – which Blatter won – is named as one of
the incidents in question.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa also took time Saturday to
weigh in on the FIFA scandal, stating, “In my opinion, this is
something terrible and extremely embarrassing, especially because six of
the individuals whom were arrested were from Latin America and the
Caribbean: It is embarrassing for the region.” <br /><br />This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: </span> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivias-Morales-Says-EU-Latin-America-Meet-Must-Discuss-FIFA-20150531-0010.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivias-Morales-Says-EU-Latin-America-Meet-Must-Discuss-FIFA-20150531-0010.html</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english</span></div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-22256534349207671582015-06-01T10:47:00.001+10:002015-06-01T10:47:37.607+10:00Evo Morales: Bolivia is not a Refuge for Criminals, Unlike US <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">President Evo Morales says the United States should stop harboring
former Bolivian officials accused of human rights abuses. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Bolivia's president
Evo Morales personally oversaw Friday the handover of a fugitive wanted by
Peruvian authorities. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">“I want the common criminals and corrupt foreigners to
know that Bolivia is not going to be a refuge for corrupt people,” Morales said
from the northern Bolivian border town of Desaguadero. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Morales observed as
Bolivian authorities handed fugitive Martin Belaunde over to Peruvian police. A
prominent Peruvian businessperson, Belaunde is wanted for corruption and
unlawful association by Peruvian authorities. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Once President Ollanta Humala's
campaign adviser, Belaunde has been accused by Peruvian prosecutors of being
involved in a massive criminal organization with links deep in Peru's
government. Belaunde has denied the allegations, but in 2014 he fled to Bolivia
after authorities announced charges were being filed against him. After his
capture and stipulated house arrest in La Paz, earlier this week Belaunde fled
and was on the run for nearly four days. On Thursday he was re-apprehended
after being sighted in a market. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">"He was walking … there was no
resistance," Bolivian deputy justice minister Rene Martinez said on local
Peruvian broadcaster RPP. RELATED: Bolivia Names New Minister aft</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">During Friday's hand-over, Morales said his government's handling
of the extradition was an example of Bolivia being a responsible neighbor to
Peru. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">"It is our obligation as Bolivians, first this fight against against
corruption,” he said, adding that anyone who aided Belaunde in his escape will
face charges. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">“I want the corrupt and foreign criminals to understand and not
confuse Evo with (U.S. President Barack) Obama or confuse Bolivia with the
United States,” he said. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The comment referred to Washington's refusal to
extradite former Bolivian officials accused of repressing protesters in 2003.
Former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada is among the officials wanted
in Bolivia, where he is accused of overseeing the killing of protesters. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;">“Here,
not only because of an issue of legality do we fight corruption, but for a
question of dignity, ethics and morals,” Morales said. </span></span></div>
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</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><i>Republished from <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Hands-over-Peruvian-Fugitive-Slams-United-States-20150529-0019.html">TeleSUR</a></i>
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</span><div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
<span style="font-size: large;">President Evo Morales
says the United States should stop harboring former Bolivian officials
accused of human rights abuses.
Bolivia's president Evo Morales personally oversaw Friday the handover
of a fugitive wanted by Peruvian authorities.
“I want the common criminals and corrupt foreigners to know that Bolivia
is not going to be a refuge for corrupt people,” Morales said from the
northern Bolivian border town of Desaguadero.
Morales observed as Bolivian authorities handed fugitive Martin Belaunde
over to Peruvian police. A prominent Peruvian businessperson, Belaunde
is wanted for corruption and unlawful association by Peruvian
authorities.
Once President Ollanta Humala's campaign adviser, Belaunde has been
accused by Peruvian prosecutors of being involved in a massive criminal
organization with links deep in Peru's government. Belaunde has denied
the allegations, but in 2014 he fled to Bolivia after authorities
announced charges were being filed against him. After his capture and
stipulated house arrest in La Paz, earlier this week Belaunde fled and
was on the run for nearly four days. On Thursday he was re-apprehended
after being sighted in a market.
"He was walking … there was no resistance," Bolivian deputy justice
minister Rene Martinez said on local Peruvian broadcaster RPP.
RELATED: Bolivia Names New Minister after Businessman Flees Justice
During Friday's hand-over, Morales said his government's handling of the
extradition was an example of Bolivia being a responsible neighbor to
Peru.
"It is our obligation as Bolivians, first this fight against against
corruption,” he said, adding that anyone who aided Belaunde in his
escape will face charges.
“I want the corrupt and foreign criminals to understand and not confuse
Evo with (U.S. President Barack) Obama or confuse Bolivia with the
United States,” he said.
The comment referred to Washington's refusal to extradite former
Bolivian officials accused of repressing protesters in 2003. Former
Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada is among the officials
wanted in Bolivia, where he is accused of overseeing the killing of
protesters.
“Here, not only because of an issue of legality do we fight corruption,
but for a question of dignity, ethics and morals,” Morales said. <br /><br />This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: </span> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Hands-over-Peruvian-Fugitive-Slams-United-States-20150529-0019.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Hands-over-Peruvian-Fugitive-Slams-United-States-20150529-0019.html</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english</span></div>
<div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
<span style="font-size: large;">President Evo Morales
says the United States should stop harboring former Bolivian officials
accused of human rights abuses.
Bolivia's president Evo Morales personally oversaw Friday the handover
of a fugitive wanted by Peruvian authorities.
“I want the common criminals and corrupt foreigners to know that Bolivia
is not going to be a refuge for corrupt people,” Morales said from the
northern Bolivian border town of Desaguadero.
Morales observed as Bolivian authorities handed fugitive Martin Belaunde
over to Peruvian police. A prominent Peruvian businessperson, Belaunde
is wanted for corruption and unlawful association by Peruvian
authorities.
Once President Ollanta Humala's campaign adviser, Belaunde has been
accused by Peruvian prosecutors of being involved in a massive criminal
organization with links deep in Peru's government. Belaunde has denied
the allegations, but in 2014 he fled to Bolivia after authorities
announced charges were being filed against him. After his capture and
stipulated house arrest in La Paz, earlier this week Belaunde fled and
was on the run for nearly four days. On Thursday he was re-apprehended
after being sighted in a market.
"He was walking … there was no resistance," Bolivian deputy justice
minister Rene Martinez said on local Peruvian broadcaster RPP.
RELATED: Bolivia Names New Minister after Businessman Flees Justice
During Friday's hand-over, Morales said his government's handling of the
extradition was an example of Bolivia being a responsible neighbor to
Peru.
"It is our obligation as Bolivians, first this fight against against
corruption,” he said, adding that anyone who aided Belaunde in his
escape will face charges.
“I want the corrupt and foreign criminals to understand and not confuse
Evo with (U.S. President Barack) Obama or confuse Bolivia with the
United States,” he said.
The comment referred to Washington's refusal to extradite former
Bolivian officials accused of repressing protesters in 2003. Former
Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada is among the officials
wanted in Bolivia, where he is accused of overseeing the killing of
protesters.
“Here, not only because of an issue of legality do we fight corruption,
but for a question of dignity, ethics and morals,” Morales said.<br /><br />This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: </span> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Hands-over-Peruvian-Fugitive-Slams-United-States-20150529-0019.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Hands-over-Peruvian-Fugitive-Slams-United-States-20150529-0019.html</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english</span></div>
<div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
<span style="font-size: large;">President Evo Morales
says the United States should stop harboring former Bolivian officials
accused of human rights abuses.
Bolivia's president Evo Morales personally oversaw Friday the handover
of a fugitive wanted by Peruvian authorities.
“I want the common criminals and corrupt foreigners to know that Bolivia
is not going to be a refuge for corrupt people,” Morales said from the
northern Bolivian border town of Desaguadero.
Morales observed as Bolivian authorities handed fugitive Martin Belaunde
over to Peruvian police. A prominent Peruvian businessperson, Belaunde
is wanted for corruption and unlawful association by Peruvian
authorities.
Once President Ollanta Humala's campaign adviser, Belaunde has been
accused by Peruvian prosecutors of being involved in a massive criminal
organization with links deep in Peru's government. Belaunde has denied
the allegations, but in 2014 he fled to Bolivia after authorities
announced charges were being filed against him. After his capture and
stipulated house arrest in La Paz, earlier this week Belaunde fled and
was on the run for nearly four days. On Thursday he was re-apprehended
after being sighted in a market.
"He was walking … there was no resistance," Bolivian deputy justice
minister Rene Martinez said on local Peruvian broadcaster RPP.
RELATED: Bolivia Names New Minister after Businessman Flees Justice
During Friday's hand-over, Morales said his government's handling of the
extradition was an example of Bolivia being a responsible neighbor to
Peru.
"It is our obligation as Bolivians, first this fight against against
corruption,” he said, adding that anyone who aided Belaunde in his
escape will face charges.
“I want the corrupt and foreign criminals to understand and not confuse
Evo with (U.S. President Barack) Obama or confuse Bolivia with the
United States,” he said.
The comment referred to Washington's refusal to extradite former
Bolivian officials accused of repressing protesters in 2003. Former
Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada is among the officials
wanted in Bolivia, where he is accused of overseeing the killing of
protesters.
“Here, not only because of an issue of legality do we fight corruption,
but for a question of dignity, ethics and morals,” Morales said.<br /><br />This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address: </span> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Hands-over-Peruvian-Fugitive-Slams-United-States-20150529-0019.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Bolivia-Hands-over-Peruvian-Fugitive-Slams-United-States-20150529-0019.html</a>. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english</span></div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-31888507650797042602015-05-22T09:55:00.000+10:002015-05-22T09:55:13.805+10:00The Dispute Between Chile and Bolivia: Michelle Bachelet and Isabel Allende Undermine Latin American Integration
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Carlos Aznárez</em> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is very easy to speak at forums and summits about Latin
American integration but those principles don’t seem to transfer well when put to
the practice of everyday life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There could be no greater proof of this than what is going
on with the current government of Chile. The very government that the Chilean
“left” insisted had to be elected to prevent, as that worn out phrase repeats,
“the need to stop the right”. We have heard this rationale time and time again
in other Latin American countries but this time it has given the government of
Michelle Bachelet the green light to put Chile in the dramatic fix it finds
itself in. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is with absolute logic that neighboring Bolivia has been
demanding a route to the sea for a 136 years. It is worth remembering that this
situation is not new and between 1879 to 1883 it came to a war between Chile,
Peru and Bolivia that ended with Bolivia losing 400 kilometers of its rightful
coastline on the Pacific. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Currently Bolivia is not even asking to take back that lost
territory that could cause a massive displacement of the population there. No,
what Bolivia is asking for is gaining access to a very small portion of
unpopulated area on the coast so they could have access to the sea and to
recuperate a small area taken away from them during that military conflict.
Meanwhile the Chilean social democrats have shamefully joined the right to say
this would have a serious effect on the economy of Chile. It was only the
government of Salvador Allende that tried to fix the problem but was not able
to do it because those in power in Chile before had slammed the door shut on
any resolution of this serious problem. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bachelet is not alone in that extreme position against
actual Latin America integration. It is words she often repeats but in
practicality follows the advice of functionaries such as her current agent in the
International Court of Justice in The Hague, Felipe Bulnes who is the former
minister of the right wing government of Sebastián Piñera and an active member
of the fascist National Renovation Party. The political background of Bulnes
was always anti-Allende, one linked to anti-communism and he is now in The
Hague trying to deny Bolivia its sovereign right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The position of Bolivia couldn’t be clearer. Through their
representatives in The Hague Bolivia has explained that it has always honored
international treaties, like the “Treaty of Peace and Friendship” of 1904 that
included a series of clauses that was to help with the issue of the lack of
access to the sea. In part of that treaty Chile committed to build a railroad
between Arica and La Paz, to issue credit, allow the right of free passage to
the Pacific Ports and the payment of 300 thousands pound sterling in
compensation. All that ended in nothing and Bolivia once again is having to
raise its rights. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And Bachelet, a so called “socialist”, continues to deny
Bolivia just like during Pinochet who tortured her own father. Bachelet even
goes so far as to say that, “Chile will not give up its legitimate territory
and Bolivia has to accept what is decided at The Hague”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This argument is a complete rupture with all currents and
thoughts of fraternity and Latin America integration that was re-introduced by
that giant of unity of the peoples Hugo Chávez. On several occasions he said
that his biggest wish was that “sooner rather than later he could swim in the
Bolivian Sea”. These are also the demands of the majority of the popular and
revolutionary Chilean left that on several occasions has welcomed Evo Morales
as a blood brother and continues to mobilize to make a reality of the demand
from Bolivia. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While this dispute has become an issue of international
importance Bachelet continues to lose popularity inside and outside Chile. As
Morales recently mentioned, she continues to "clutch to a Constitution
inherited from Pinochet". She has ignored the demand for free education
coming from Chilean students and has also ignored the territorial demands of
the Mapuche people, whose leaders are imprisoned and in many cases have been
assassinated. Her foreign policy shows contempt for Bolivia, and this is in and
of itself is enough to understand why she is supporting the U.S. Pacific
Alliance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And as if this were not bad enough to define just how far
the Socialist Party of Bachelet has gone astray the very daughter of Salvador
Allende has also joined in this shameless offense of the memory of what her
father stood for. Isabel Allende has stooped even further than denying Bolivia
but to visit in Caracas the wives of the imprisoned right wing coup organizers
Mayor Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo Lopez. She was not satisfied with this
disrespect to the people of Venezuela but took it further by the calling the government
of Nicolas Maduro a dictatorship. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With these spokes people defending the so called interests
of Chile in The Hague it would be very healthy for the authentic socialist
movement in Chile to reject this sustained rightward drift of the leadership with
a militant struggle or to massively abandon their party altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Republished from Resumen Latinoamericano<o:p></o:p></span><br />
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-43902500489233806932015-05-19T13:32:00.002+10:002015-05-19T13:32:50.983+10:00Evo Morales at the VII Summit of the Americas: "Latin America has changed forever":<i><br /></i>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Translation of Evo Morales' speech to the VII Summit of the Americas held April 10-11 in Panama. Translation done by Stan Smith, Chicago ALBA Solidarity Committee</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thank
you very much, brother president of Panama, on behalf of the Bolivian people I
congratulate the excellent organization of the Summit of the Americas. To all
presidents and presidents of America, to all international organizations
present here.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
was listening intently intervention brother President of Peru (Ollanta Humala).
Clearly we have poverty, what we do have to discuss is what are the causes of
poverty and extreme poverty. This is the topic of discussion, this is a
political debate over the programmatic
and ideological differences that we have
in America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
many of you probably, or some of you, come from this poverty, from this extreme
poverty, and poverty creates suffering, and from suffering comes the
feeling, and suffering brings the
thinking, an anti-imperialist thinking, an anticapitalist thinking. And there
is the cause of extreme poverty, which is why I feel it is important, in this
debate, to tell the truth without fear among us, especially the truth of our
past history, to avoid making the mistakes of the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brothers
and sisters, it is important to remember that between the United States and
Latin America and the Caribbean there are more histories of failure than
success, more asymmetrical relations than large integration projects between
North and South. Our Latin American
memory is full of episodes of armed intervention from the United States,
invasions, dominating impositions and constant aggression.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
example, let us never forget the annexation of the territory of Mexico by the
United States, nor armed invasions against several countries in Latin America
and the Caribbean: Nicaragua, Panama, Grenada, El Salvador, Guatemala and
others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
believe, brothers and sisters, the world’s chief promoter of military
dictatorships and coups is the United States. The colonializing imperial view
of the United States towards our Latin America and the Caribbean is one of
contempt and belittlement, a view of superiority, political, military,
technological and economic superiority. It is the gaze of the colonizer over
the colonized, the invader over the invaded, the ruler over their vassals, it
is the eagle eyeing its helpless prey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">More
than 200 years have passed since US independence and the country not only
continues to see our region as its backyard, but as its patrimony that belongs
to it by divine right. By means of its imperial power, the United States through the imposing of
neoliberal economics, with a colonial mentality or using the talk of
international security, this dominating boss has classified us as either good or evil, 'stick for the bad and carrot
for the good.'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
bad countries are those of us who respond with ideas, with dignity, the bad
ones are those who nationalize our natural resources and basic services, those
put a brake on the political arrogance of US ambassadors who have been
converted into viceroys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of
us, the powerful will say anything. I remember perfectly well the year 2002
when I was first running for President. Ambassador Rocha, the United States
said: Evo is 'Bin Laden Andino' and my fellow farmers the Taliban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They called us the
Taliban, drug traffickers, terrorists, subversives, dictators and populists. We
are the bad guys because we threw out of the country the foreign aid agencies
who plot, the intelligence agencies who work undercover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
are the bad guys because we expelled the ambassadors, as in Bolivia, they were
separatists who finance the corruption of the people. We are the bad guys
because we defend our political and economic sovereignty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
United States eyes us with contempt and treated as obstinate subjects. What has
our Latin America and Caribbean done to deserve imperial punishment, armed
intervention, territorial annexation, or political interference by the United
States against our people?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
have we people of Latin American and Caribbean done to be treated as if we were
slaves in our own territory? We have done nothing but fight for our
independence, for the first and second independence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
never declared war on the United States, never tried to annex a part of their
territory, we never armed ourselves to threaten their safety. Under no
circumstances did we interfere in their internal affairs, we never violated
their sovereignty, then why do they treat us as enemies?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Obama, listen to the voice of our
peoples"<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sister
and brother presidents, colleague Obama, it's time to not only listen to the
voice of our peoples and our governments,
but to listen to your people who must be tired of so much war, having
buried many dead and have so many
invalids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's
time you learned that we must live in harmony, in peace and respect. Leave in
the past the speeches full of double standards, put aside the threats,
blackmail and pressures that the U.S.
Capitol or the White House envelop our governments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stop
using fear, the politics of terror and conditions of any kind. Stop behaving
like an empire and let’s conduct ourselves as democratic and sovereign states.
All empires perish, democracies are eternal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Latin
America and the Caribbean have changed forever, our people are changing
forever, this diverse and unique continent of freedom and justice is forever
changing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Latin
America and the Caribbean are no longer as before, and military dictatorships
can no longer be imposed, military coups cannot thrive, neither hard coups nor
soft coups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We have stopped being an obedient,
disciplined, bowed-down and submissive region.
Today we are a rebellious continent that wants to forge its
self-determination, and we are no longer the puppets like those of past
governments, doing what we were told. Today our peoples decide, we are no
longer your backyard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sisters
and brothers, we are today a powerful and unstoppable force that speaks our
mind and do what we say. Our people are recovering their identity and the
dignity of their States.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
people are who make history, and they have finished with the history made from
above and outside. Now, history written
for the few, with the sacrifices by the many, has ceased to exist. Today
history is history written by our people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our
Latin America and the Caribbean have lived while kidnapped politically,
economically and militarily by the imperial power from the US Monroe Doctrine:
America for the North Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
want no more Monroes on our continent, no Truman's doctrine, no more Reagan
doctrine, no more Bush doctrine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
want no more presidential decrees, no executive orders declaring us threats to
their country, we do not want them to watch over us, monitor our cell phones,
spy on us or kidnap our presidential aircraft. We want to live in peace, let us
live in peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Living in peace is less expensive than
living in perpetual war.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">President
Obama, we of Latin America and the Caribbean are a continent of peace and
dialogue, we invite you to dialogue and live in peace. To live in peace it is
less expensive than to live in perpetual war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No
war has sown peace, all wars sow more violence and discord, we invite you to
become the leader of a peaceful people showing solidarity, not a belligerent,
destructive and oppressive government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">President
Obama, stop turning the world into a battlefield, stop thinking that there are
only friends or enemies. There are also others, others who want to show
solidarity, those who strive for high ideals, those who save lives, those who
cure diseases, those who relieve the
people’s suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Avoid
wars that you have produced so far, wars that only benefit the financial
tyranny, that benefit the large armaments industry, stop destroying entire
civilizations, stop chasing ghosts, stop spending so many resources without
results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Humanity
does not want war, we want the basics, basic services as a human right, men and
women of this world want to live in peace. It is less expensive and more
productive, it is less painful and more satisfying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Sisters and brothers, we have an obligation to
understand that freedom and democracy can speak. What democracy and freedom can
the government of the United States speak of, if everyday they violate the
human rights of millions of citizens worldwide, through electronic
surveillance, undercover operations and persecution?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
human rights can the US government speak of if torture is a common method used
by its intelligence agencies and the death penalty is still in force?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
first condition for the defense of human rights is to sign international
conventions, they want to be the champions of human rights when they do not
even meet the basic requirement to ratify these agreements human rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">President
Obama speaks to us of democracy and yet every day his government sends to us
their sophisticated assassins to erode the legitimacy of our governments,
promote coups against our democracies, funds agencies which plot against and
divide our society, financing NGOs to subvert the social order our peoples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
democracy can he speak of when he converts a revolutionary people like in
Venezuela into a threat to its national security?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Venezuelan people, together with Latin America and the Caribbean, we are no
threat to anyone, we are peoples whose weapons of combat are solidarity,
justice and equality, our weapons are ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
fight so that our citizens can enjoy their status as human beings. With their
logic, then, they convert all the governments of Latin America into an apparent
security threat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
threat to the security of its people does not come from any nation in Latin
America, it comes from their own mistakes, their role as an empire and its
ability to carry wars where peace should prevail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
democracy can the Government of the United States speak of if it is sponsoring
terrorist acts in various parts of the world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
is not exporting democracy when it produces the greatest quantity of weapons
for the destruction of humanity. No democracy can sustain itself by spying on
the world, violating the privacy of millions of citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
democracy can President Obama speak of when he sends thousands of armed marines
to our continent to indoctrinate soldiers to fight against our peoples?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Can
there can be dialogue with the United States when its entire arsenal and
technology are monitoring our territories or when the fourth naval fleet sails
the Pacific challenging our Pacific coast?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
a strange democracy that installs military bases in our countries, when it
applies extraterritorial laws, when it has unresolved territorial issues with
Cuba and Puerto Rico.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What
democracy can it speak of as it cruelly blockades for 50 years a people who
only want to live in peace and show solidarity as Cuba does.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pretexts to impose economic policies<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
moment ago President Obama said he will help Cuba. What you need to do </span><span class="textexposedshow"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">is repay it for
all the damages you have caused to Cuba for 50 years</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Applause)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let
me tell President Obama that your doctrine of global security has failed, today
there are more threats than a decade ago, not only against your country but
also against other countries that have nothing to do with your extraterritorial
wars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your
war on drugs has failed because there is more demand for drugs and more
production of synthetic drugs in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Everyone
knows that the supposed war on drugs was merely a pretext to impose your
economic policies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
wars against communism, against drug trafficking and terrorism have become a
pretext to impose policies of fear and intervene in strategic areas to plunder
our natural resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">President
Obama, stop making war, and turn your country into a democratic republic,
instead of maintaining an anti-democratic and unsustainable empire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Instead
of continuing to wage war on the world, I respectfully ask you to concern
yourself with the millions of Americans living in extreme poverty in your own
country, to control the millions of weapons circulating in your territory which
kill the innocent with impunity, to reduce demand for drugs by the millions of
drug users who require medical treatment and therapies, and social state of
law, to eliminate racism and discrimination against your brothers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">President,
govern with your people, for your people, and don’t govern for the bankers, nor
for the transnational weapons, food, medicine and oil corporations, don’t
continue expelling defenseless immigrants who only seek to work in your
country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">President
Obama, I ask you to expel the criminals from your territory, from your country.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
is not right for your country to become a home for confessed terrorists,
corrupt ones, of murderers, of separatists who have escaped. Expel those who
have escaped so that they can be judged by their peoples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We appreciate the support for our
maritime claim<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
also take this opportunity, sisters and brothers, there are some outstanding
issues still in Bolivia. In 1879 we were invaded and the sea, the Pacific was
snatched from us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm
not complaining, just taking advantage, thanks to many presidents and
ex-presidents. For your information, four ex-presidents of the United States
have supported this claim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pope
John Paul II supported our claim, we are with the people, almost with the whole
world. We came to a very important international organization at The Hague, we
are very confident that this injustice will be resolved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
also, I want to take this opportunity, to finish, I'm sorry to denounce to the
world, that it is not possible for the US government, or any other country,
leave this meeting without a document, without a resolution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
information I have from my Foreign Ministry, the United States does not accept,
for example, the transfer of technology without conditions to the countries
with the lowest degree of scientific development of our America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They
did not agree with the principle of common, but differentiated,
responsibilities on climate change, nor
the recognition of health care as a fundamental right of the people, as
an essential condition for integral development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
understand that health is a human right, it cannot be a private business. It is
not possible that these kinds of proposals coming from 33 countries or 35
countries be rejected. Nor equitable, comprehensive, safe and reliable access
to new information and communication technologies, respecting the right to
privacy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
is not possible for them to reject the summit of our social movements, but in
addition to that, to reject the support those 33 countries have given
Venezuela. And one or two countries
reject a statement on the Decree which threatens not only Venezuela, but also
all Latin America and the Caribbean.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sisters
and brothers, if the United States is a power, one of the world powers, I call
on President Obama to lead America, so that the American continent is a model
of peace and social justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">President
Obama, if you feel that you are the leader of a world power, I ask you take the
lead in saving Mother Earth, in saving life, of humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
hope that President Obama can understand the profound feelings of the poor, a
product of applying a model that offers no benefit to the peoples of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 5.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thank
you. (Applause)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-75431058662428592922015-05-18T09:13:00.002+10:002015-05-18T09:13:45.976+10:00Fifteen Years of Community Controlled Water in Bolivia <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Marina Sitrin interviews Marcela Olivera, an activist in Bolivia’s water wars of 2000 and their ongoing legacy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">This year marks fifteen years of the victory of the communities of Bolivia over private water corporations. Not only did popular power reverse the plan to privatize the water, but the many hundreds of communities surrounding Cochabamba managed to keep their water as a common good, controlled and managed by the community directly and democratically. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">The past few decades have witnessed a massive increase in attempts to commodify natural resources. Most all such attempts have been met with powerful community mobilizations and resistance. There have had many victories, but also losses. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Successes have taken place, for example, in Argentina with the defeat of Monsanto, three consecutive mining companies in La Rioja and a paper mill on the border with Uruguay. </span><span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Other places around the world have also been successful in at least holding back privatizations and mining, such as in Thessaloniki with the struggle to keep water public and in the Halkidiki region of Greece. In these examples, as so many others, the struggles are grounded in a particular form of popular power. As with the experience in Cochabamba, it was regular people and communities organized in the streets (not parties, unions or other sectors) using direct action and directly democratic assemblies to make decisions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Important lessons can and should be learned in our struggles to defend the land and commons from what took place and continues to take place in Bolivia. While the Bolivian struggle is referred to as the Water Wars, this does not reflect all of what took place – it was not only a war over the privatization of resources, but, as will be explained below, it was and is a struggle to maintain autonomy and self organization, experiences that in some places go back hundreds of years. Cochabanbinos have not only kicked out private water companies but have been successful in maintaining their ways of organizing and being – their bienes comunes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I spoke with Marcela Olivera in May 2015 about these past fifteen years of continuous struggle for autonomy and self organization of the commons – water. Marcela has been organizing on water issues, not coincidently, for fifteen years. We began the conversation revisiting the first days of the Water Wars in Cochabamba in April 2000. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Can you explain a little bit of how you got involved in the issue of defending water and resources? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I first got involved in this issue, like thousands and thousands of Cochabambinos 15 years ago to defend our water. There was already organizing happening that I was not really involved in. My first memory of this issue was seeing on television was how campesinos, women and kids were being beaten by police on the street and feeling so much rage – so together with my sister we went into the streets – I think this was similar for many thousand of other people – why they first went into the streets. We did not at first completely identify with the issue, I personally was living with my parents and not paying the bills, but like me many people saw the injustice of this issue and went into the streets. It was something that I had never seen before in my life and don’t think I will see again in my lifetime. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">You spoke about democracy, and what you are calling real democracy. Can you explain what that looked like in practice? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">When we talk about democracy and all these words, sometimes we don’t really see what they truly mean. But I think I witnessed that, what democracy really is and how it should work, and how we don’t have that type of democracy in our daily life. They make us think that electing someone is democracy, but it is not. What I saw during the Water Wars was real democracy, direct democracy. Where people come together and make decisions. It was like my voice mattered. I was not a leader of a union and I did not belong to an organized sector, but my voice mattered. I felt like people were listening to me and I was listing to other people, and then together we would make decisions. Sometimes we did not agree with some things and there were people with different opinions about strategies, but what really mattered was how we made decisions and decided together. We found ways of doing it together. That is what real democracy is. The people in the street were people just like me – not a part of organizations, the labor movement had pretty much disappeared after the neoliberal model was imposed, so the traditional working class had disappeared, but then we were the working class, people like me – without a sector, mainly working on our own, without a tradition of organizing ... but we could meet and find one another and see the other side of people, and then meet with those who were organized like the cocaleros, campesinos and factory workers that were there. Among us there were no differences, there was no hierarchy due to differences based on if you were from a sector or not. We had a common goal and that is what mattered. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I remember you and others telling the story of La Coordinadora por la Defensa del Agua y la Vida back in 2006. Can you tell it again? I am especially curious since what you are describing is a horizontal and participatory movement, yet people still insisted in seeing the movement as one with a leader? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">[Laughs] You mean how people thought the Coordinadora was a woman, right. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">During this period many reforms were implemented and the government named many people in their specific roles, such as the Defensora del Pueblo, so people, the coalition took a name based on that. So they decided on the Coordinadora por la Defensa del Agua y la Vida. To make it short people referred to La Coordinadora, it is feminine in Spanish, and so people would speak of it as if it were a woman. Many people who were not deeply involved thought it was a person like the Defensora del Pueblo – also in the media and political cartoons it was shown as a woman. It was always portrayed as a traditional indigenous woman. People would ask who is this brave woman confronting the police and the government. I remember after the struggle how there was an old guy who would come looking for the Coordinadora, and we tried to explain to him that we are all the Coordinadora it is not a person but all of us, and then finally they sent a woman to talk to him and one time he came and asked for the Señora Coordinadora del Agua and we all laughed and he got embarrassed and said oh, sorry, is it a Señorita? It was always thought of as a woman fighting for the people. It is funny because all the spokespeople were men, so it was a sort of contradictory thing, but we have always thought and seen that the struggles are mostly carried out and led by women, if you look at the images etc you will see that it was the women who were on the front lines. Yet men do a lot of the talking ... I guess they like to talk and we like to do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">You have spoken in the past a lot about the idea of commons good and how you learned it from the movements. Can you explain how the water supply and distribution is organized? If you could also go into the differences between commons, public and private control. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">What was going on was on two levels, first they wanted to take concessions from the water system in Cochabamba and there was also national legislation that would make water a commodity – so the privatization of the water and water systems. The people of Bolivia have traditionally managed the water based on the usos y costubres, so the uses is the use of the water and how it is used and the customs is the tradition of the use of the water, so who has been using it, what the agreements are between the communities for how it is used etc. With the Water War both things were stopped, so the privatization was revered and the legislation regarding water was changed based on the demands of the people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Fifteen years later I do not think the situation has changed too much – we still have to struggle. Right after the Water War when we recovered the water system we had this questioning and thinking together among ourselves, and we asked what do we want, do we want the water to be controlled in the public hands, meaning in the hands of the state or do we want something different. Many times we think only in those terms if it is public or private and we do not think of a third way. After the Water War it became visible that the other way to manage the water is by the community, that is the third way that we realized already existed and is possible. And that is what has been happening over the years and we have been trying to visibalize, how communities are managing their own water, and not waiting for the state to manage it but the people themselves are doing it, managing their own water systems. All this democracy we saw in the streets is replicated daily by these water systems. They organize in assemblies and decide together what they are going to do with the water and how. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">This is a reality that we did not know existed, but learned later. Just in the area around Cochabamba there are about 600 or 700 water systems managed by the communities. That means that 50 percent of the population is getting their water this way. It is exactly these water systems that were fighting, they were fighting to keep managing their water systems. Sometimes they are 500 families and sometimes 50 with different sizes and different internal forms of democracy. Some do everything in common, some not, each decides the best way to govern themselves. Since there are so many of these communities and they are so diverse many people did not know about them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">I have also learned over these past fifteen years working in this that this sort of thing is taking place all over the world. People are managing their own water and resources and not waiting for the state. This same reality exists in Colombia for example, as well as Peru and Ecuador, so this is not just a reality of Cochabamaba, but many places in the world. So what we are and have been trying to do is visibalize this that is already taking place. No one is looking at how water can be managed, people keep looking to either the public or private sphere. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">It is really something to see this – how people have been managing their water and doing so in ways that go beyond what is private, beyond what is public and beyond the state. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">What do you think about the recent Municipalization of water? Is it similar to the idea of commons? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Something we have been seeing lately is the celebration of the re-municipalization of the water sources. I have seen this in the water movement in general. For example in Paris, Buenos Aires and other parts of the world where municipalities have taken over the water source from private sources. In our case it is the opposite, we see this as a sort of privatization of the water source, when the state is trying to intervened and management of something that we have done for so many years, hundreds of years in some cases. While this is something that might be celebrated in the north it has a different meaning here. It might not mean the moving of the resources to the private sector but that it takes the decision making out of our hands, which then brings us to believe that this is not just about water. It is about something else. It is a place where we can convene many other aspects of our lives. The water commissions in Cochabamba for example talk about many more things related to the community as a whole, how people are doing, does someone need support or help, if someone has died in the community how to help the family. They organize soccer championship – it is a place where people organize many aspects of their social lives – it is something else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arimo, sans-serif; line-height: 16px;">Republished from <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Fifteen-Years-of-Community-Controlled-Water-in-Bolivia-20150514-0044.html">TeleSUR</a></span><br />
<br />Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-874252845894018722015-04-30T09:33:00.000+10:002015-04-30T09:33:02.782+10:00Kayna Wawaiki Jamuni (Ahora Vengo Como Tu Hijo//Now I Come as Your Son)<br />A poetic vision of the people, landscapes, and customs of Bolivia -from Altiplano to jungle and across Lake Titicaca- through the eyes and voice of a Chilean-American high-school student, in dialogue with a tour guide, an anthropologist, and other location recordings in the native Quechuan language. Directed by Nico Page<br />
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Awards + Festivals:<br /> Official Selection and World Premiere NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth) 2015<br /> Audience Award "Poetry in Motion" NFFTY 2015<br /> Official Selection 18th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival 2015<br />
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Shot on location in Bolivia with a Panasonic Lumix GH3, all handheld, and a Zoom H4N recorder. Edited in Premiere Pro, color corrección and grading in Film Convert<br />
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<a href="https://vimeo.com/125642614">View short film here</a><br />
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Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-65380972200021623932015-04-28T08:43:00.001+10:002015-04-28T08:43:22.799+10:00Bolivia resists global pressure to do away with coca crop<br />
<i>Despite its use in cocaine production, the mildly narcotic leaf enjoys a treasured cultural place in Bolivian society</i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>Chrystelle Barbier</i><br />
<br />
One by one, Bernardo Tarquino carefully harvests the green leaves growing on the bushes on his farm at Minachi, Nor Yungas province, Bolivia. “We’ve been growing coca here for generations,” the old man says with a smile, assuring us that “his” crop is for acullico, which in the Aymara language means chewing the leaves to extract their full benefit.<br />
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“Coca quells hunger and gives strength to work,” Tarquino, 75, says, adding that it also eases altitude sickness that often affects visitors to the nearby high Andean plateaus. The leaf, which was sacred in the days of the Incas, has long been highly valued by people living in the Andes, on account of its nutritional and medicinal qualities.<br />
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But coca contains alkaloids and is used to produce cocaine, a drug causing worldwide devastation. Given the two possible uses, coca leaves are a major challenge for producer-countries such as Bolivia, the world’s third-largest source of coca (23,000 hectares), behind Colombia (48,000 hectares) and Peru (49,800 hectares).<br />
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Before he was first elected president in 2006, Evo Morales – who has been re-elected twice since – used to grow coca in Chapare province, in south-eastern Bolivia. It is a tropical region and the country’s second-largest source, after Yungas. He has always defended this crop, against governments at home and abroad, and their “no coca” policies, which sought to destroy the plants indiscriminately. In 1996 he was elected head of the six [cocalero] federations of the Tropics of Cochabamba, leading demonstrations chanting, “Viva la coca y mueran los yanquis” [long live coca, death to the Yankees].<br />
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So the question when he came to power was where he would stand on drugs. Nine years after his election the policies deployed by Morales, who retained his job at the head of the cocaleros union, enjoy the support of producers. They have also drawn the attention of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Last year’s survey [PDF] showed a downward trend between 2010-2013 when coca cultivation dropped by 26%. “In 2013, Bolivia recorded the lowest area under coca cultivation since 2002,” commented Antonino De Leo, the UNODC representative in Bolivia, when the report was released.<br />
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The Bolivian experiment has been unique in several ways. “The suspicions harboured by the international community with regard to the changes initiated by Evo Morales are a thing of the past,” said Bolivia’s interior minister Hugo Moldiz, when he presented his country’s model for combating drugs at the 58th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at the UN general assembly in March.<br />
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In order “to restore the dignity of the coca leaf”, the Bolivian government launched an international campaign in 2006 to depenalise coca and have it taken off the list of narcotics drawn up by the Vienna convention in 1961.<br />
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Bolivia has not yet succeeded in convincing the UN, but in 2013 it did obtain a specific clause authorising chewing of coca leaves on its territory. “Bolivia is the only country in the world with a clause of this sort,” says De Leo. Coca cultivation, using traditional methods, is currently allowed on 12,000 hectares.<br />
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Bolivia’s other success story, according to the UNODC, is its social control policy “by which the state dialogues with producers and upholds human rights”, De Leo says. The cocaleros have pledged to restrict their crops to authorised areas, but also voluntarily to reduce the amount of land used.<br />
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“We check that no one moves into the prohibited areas,” says Jesus Quisbert, a producer from Coripata, Yungas, who thoroughly approves of Bolivia’s radical policy shift since 2006. “Before we had to combat the authorities, who put pressure on us; now we work together with the government to control output.”<br />
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Quisbert also believes that “helping the government is also a way of protecting our traditional crops from narco-trafficking”. The officially approved Villa Fatima market in La Paz now sells 93% of the coca leaves produced in Yungas, confirming the claim that the region’s crop is used for traditional purposes. But in contrast only 10% of the output from Chapare passes through the legal market, according to UNODC figures. The rest is sold illegally, either on markets not recognised by the state but serving traditional consumption, or to drug traffickers.<br />
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It is hard to establish how many tonnes of leaves the cocaine trade absorbs. In 2013 the government destroyed plants on more than 11,000 hectares, following discussions with the local community.<br />
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This approach differs from the strategy of forced eradication adopted for a long time in Bolivia, with financial support from Washington, which only ending in 2008 when US agents were sent home.<br />
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Neighbouring Peru is still pursuing the same US-sponsored strategy.<br />
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One of the biggest headaches for Morales is keeping the cocaleros out of the natural parks. Between 2010 and 2013 coca plantations in protected areas were more than halved, but they are still a real threat. “You have to bear in mind that no crop can compete with coca leaves, which is by far the most profitable,” De Leo says. In 2013 the UNODC put the average price per kilo of coca leaves on the official market in Bolivia at $7.80, with total output an estimated 36,300 tonnes, adding up to $283m. Just under half this tonnage is sold illegally.<br />
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“Bolivia is also a country where cocaine is produced,” De Leo says, with the country’s annual production of the 100% pure drug estimated at 155 tonnes in 2012. Furthermore, “the eastern side of Bolivia is a transit zone between the world’s main area of production in Peru and the region’s main centre of drug consumption in São Paulo and Rio in Brazil”, says Ricardo Soberon, a former head of Peru’s Drugs and Human Rights Research Centre.He adds that many Brazilian cartels are operating in southern Bolivia, an established centre for narco-trafficking.<br />
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<i>Republished from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/24/bolivia-coca-growing-cocaine">The Guardian</a></i>Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-10385833275572945922015-04-23T10:36:00.001+10:002015-04-23T10:37:17.344+10:00Cholitas paceñas: Bolivia's indigenous women flaunt their ethnic pride<br />
<em>Aymara women of Bolivia show off their newfound upward mobility while preserving their traditional dress of full colourful petticoats and tall bowler hats</em><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><em>Sara Shahriari</em></span><br />
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Brilliantly coloured skirts and fringed shawls swirl and massive gold earrings and brooches glitter as young women sway up and down a room in a 17th century hotel in downtown La Paz.<br />
<br />
It’s Saturday afternoon, and modelling class is in session. But these are not size-zero supermodels wearing the latest European couture; they are petite indigenous women dressed in rakishly tilted bowler hats, shawls – and layers and layers of petticoats and skirts. <br />
<br />
They are dressed in the traditional costume of the Aymara Indian women of La Paz – known as <em><span style="font-family: Thread-0000041c-Id-0000002b;">cholitas paceñas</span></em> – an outfit which once which denoted membership of a marginalised and downtrodden section of Bolivian society, but now reflects the growing confidence and spending power of the country’s emergent indigenous middle class. <br />
<br />
The modelling school’s director, Rosario Aguilar Rodríguez, is a lawyer and local politician who says she is proud to wear the pleated skirt known as the <em><span style="font-family: Thread-0000041c-Id-0000002b;">pollera</span></em>. She also points out that cholita style is a sound investment.<br />
<br />
“The strongest market is in women who wear the pollera. They have the economic resources to buy a good mattress, good perfume, good furniture. So betting on indigenous and mestiza women as models means reaching a very important group,” she said<br />
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<a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/19/bolivia-protest-centre-boomtown"></a> </div>
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</aside><a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/bolivia"><span style="color: #005689;">Bolivia</span></a> is still one of Latin America’s poorest countries, but its economy has grown rapidly in recent years on the back of high mineral and gas prices, and the government’s pragmatic economic policies. That growth has helped a commercial boom in La Paz and the neighbouring city of El Alto, where Aymara merchants – many of them women – play important and lucrative role.<br />
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Nilda Virginia Gutierrez is a merchant and fashion designer, whose small store in La Paz is packed floor to ceiling with a rainbow-array of skirts and shawls. “We bring out new fashion every month,” she says. “We are always innovating, because there’s so much competition.”<br />
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Even the unpracticed eye can see that this fashion is not static. The crowns of the bowler hats that perch atop a cholita’s glossy black braids are getting lower and lower; high crowns now look very last year.<br />
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“Now people are spending more - people want a whole outfit, from the jewellery to the shoes to the hat,” said Gutierrez.<br />
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None of that comes cheap: a Borsalino – the most famous brand of bowler hat – costs roughly 300 pounds, and a standard outfit commonly costs another 300. No outfit is complete without earrings and a sparkling brooch to fasten the shawl and another adorning the hat. A fine set may run around 1,400 pounds - but the best can be well over 6,000.<br />
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These extraordinary ensembles are shown off at events like weddings, or La Paz’s yearly Gran Poder festival, which brings the cities’ wealthy Aymara merchants out in force. Some of the jewels women wear in Gran Poder are so pricey that they reportedly employ bodyguards follow them throughout the day.<br />
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This increased visibility is more than an exercise in conspicuous consumption: forced into servitude under colonial rule and later relegated to the margins of society, Bolivia’s many indigenous peoples were long excluded from mainstream society. Until the 1990s, wearing a pollera or a poncho to a government office would have been unthinkable.<br />
<br />
But attitudes started to change with the election Evo Morales, the country’s first indigenous president who took office in 2006. <br />
<br />
“Before even recognizing oneself as Aymara was difficult. Really the reverse was happening – because the less Aymara you were, the more social mobility you had. Today it’s very different,” said sociologist Germán Guaygua, who works at the ministry of foreign affairs.<br />
<br />
Model and TV personality Maria Elena Condori Salgado embodies both the entrepreneurial spirit and ethnic pride of this new Aymara identity. “I’ve worn the pollera since I was very small. My mother wears the pollera, and so did my grandmother,” she said. <br />
<br />
“For us this is an art,” Condori Salgado said of her clothes and the message they send to the world. “We are going to conserve it – at least I’m not going to change.”<br />
<br />
Republished from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/22/bolivia-indigenous-women-fashion-clothing">Guardian</a><br />
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-20746442706607439452015-04-22T17:03:00.001+10:002015-04-22T17:03:37.311+10:00Bolivian Independence from the World Bank and IMF <style>
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</i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nate Singham</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bolivians’ popular uprising in 2000 against Bechtel put the issue of
water privatization and World Bank policies in the international spotlight. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Debt and
Austerity </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Over the last 60 years, some of Bolivia’s largest resistance struggles
have targeted the devastating economic policies carried out by the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The bulk of these protests focused on opposition to privatization
policies and austerity measures, such as cuts to public services, privatization
decrees, wage reductions, as well the weakening labor rights. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bolivia’s economic dependence on the IMF and the World Bank escalated in
the 1970s when the country contracted massive loans to finance the modernization
of their mining and agriculture export industries, thereby meeting the needs of
Northern countries and enriching a handful of transnational companies in the
relevant sectors. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gradually, IMF-driven reforms became the modus operandi for Bolivian
elites; since upper class Bolivians did not suffer from the IMF-backed
austerity measures, they had little sympathy for those bearing its costs. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By the mid 1980s, Bolivia had reached a severe debt crisis following a
surge of foreign capital from mainly private international banks, recycling
petrodollars in the aftermath of the oil shock in 1973–1974. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Between 1971 and 1981 Bolivia incurred more than US$3 billion of foreign
debt. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once in debt, the Bolivian government looked to the IMF for assistance
in providing fresh loans with fiscal austerity stipulations attached in order
to pay back private lenders. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rather than deal with the short-term balance-of-payments crisis for what
it was, the IMF forced the Bolivian government to divert much needed government
funds away from social welfare programs, disproportionately affecting
low-income workers who rely heavily on public services. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“IMF loans aimed to reduce the fiscal deficit through budget cuts which
primarily resulted in the reduction of social spending,” Patricia Miranda from
the Bolivian-based NGO Fundación Jubileo told teleSUR. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In Bolivia, the immediate effects of IMF policies have always fallen on
the shoulders of the rural and urban working class, thanks to the government’s
willingness to implement IMF demands such as income tax increases on low-wage
earners. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The increase of taxes on income without an alternative tributary reform
proposal unleashed one of the biggest social crises the country had ever
witnessed,” Miranda added. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This combined with the privatization of state enterprises and natural
resources such as water and gas during the 1990s and early 2000s led to massive
popular uprisings that posed a direct challenge to the legitimacy of the World
Bank and the IMF. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cochabamba
Water Wars </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In 2000, the World Bank encouraged the Bolivian government to sell the
public water system of Cochabamba to the Bechtel Corporation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The deal, which was negotiated behind closed doors between the World
Bank and Bechtel representatives, granted the company control over the city’s
water company for 40 years, guaranteeing them an average profit of 16 percent
profit for each one of those years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a result of the Bechtel contract, monthly water bills skyrocketed by
43 percent for low-income households, according to the California-based
nonprofit Democracy Center. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Public protests and revolts began immediately after this decision was
made, forcing the Bolivian government to cancel the contract with Bechtel. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This outcome was regarded as a first victory of popular movements after
15 years of Washington Consensus-inspired structural adjustment policies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Cochabamba ‘water wars’ of 2000 united urban, rural, mestizo and
indigenous populations, setting the stage for Evo Morales’ eventual election as
president. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">New Era of
Relations </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Over 15 years later, Bolivia’s relationship with the World Bank and the
IMF has changed considerably as Bolivia is no longer subject to its conditions.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since Bolivian President Evo Morales was first elected in 2005, the
government has established a new set of guidelines which protects Bolivia’s
economic autonomy from predatory lending institutions such as the IMF and the
World Bank. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Morales administration views autonomous economic governance as a
central policy component to its larger political platform. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Therefore, it has aimed to ensure that external financial assistance
corresponds with the objectives of the government’s domestic development and
fiscal agenda. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Under President Morales, disaster risk management has been a priority
for the Bolivian government, which is frequently impacted by climate
change-induced natural disasters, even though Bolivia is among the world’s
smallest contributors to carbon emissions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Last November, the Bolivian government approved the Disaster Risk
Management Law, following the impacts of the early-2014 floods, which led to 50
deaths, 411,500 victims, and damages amounting to approximately US$384 million
in Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Potosi and La Paz departments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In what at first glance might seem a return to policies of the past in efforts
to strengthen its disaster management institutions, the Bolivian government
signed its largest ever loan with the World Bank in February, receiving $200
million for disaster and climate risk management. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However this loan agreement grants the Bolivian government executive and
administrative control over the allocation and distribution of the capital,
which is indicative of the current set of relations between the two parties,
Fundacion Jubileo’s Miranda explained to teleSUR. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Despite the recent capital loan, overall Bolivian public debt to the
World Bank has fallen from 37 percent in 2005 to 9 percent in 2014. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In recent years, the Bolivian government has successfully managed to
lessen its dependency on the IMF and the World Bank through increasing
government royalties from the country’s hydrocarbon reserves (a policy that the
IMF and World Bank opposed), which provided the government with sufficient
financial independence in order to promote its own economic model. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today the state is the main wealth generator in the country. Since
Morales came to power in 2005, the Bolivian government has increased its
hydrocarbon gas production from 33 million cubic meters to 56 million cubic
meters in 2013, which has led to a jump in revenues from hydrocarbons from 9.8
percent in 2005 to 35 percent in 2013. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a result, since 2006, social spending in the area of health,
education, pensions, and poverty alleviation programs has increased over 45
percent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, if commodity prices continue to fall, Bolivia will then likely
be forced rely on alternative sources for fiscal revenue in order to sustain
its economic independence from institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the meantime, Bolivia can rely on its massive buildup of
international reserves which has allowed it to avoid the often-harmful
conditions that come with IMF and World Bank borrowing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bolivia’s success in recent years indicates a newly found independence
for the country, which is now able to pursue economic and social policies
without the influence of the IMF and the World Bank. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Republished from <a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/analysis/Bolivian-Independence-from-the-World-Bank-and-IMF--20150416-0017.html">TeleSUR</a><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-33281910425034999092015-04-21T09:33:00.002+10:002015-04-21T09:33:39.979+10:00Bolivia - A glance to the most important achievements of the economic social communitarian productive model<br />
Presentation<br />
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Since 2006, under the direction of the President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma, we, the Government and the people, have worked designing a new State and a new economic model based on an analysis of the structural crisis of capitalism and a commitment to change our reality up to then characterized by economic and social exclusion to most Bolivians since the colonization period. Exclusion got worse during the twenty years of neoliberalism before 2006. The Economic Social Communitarian Productive Model was built based on sovereignty of our economic policy.On these grounds, a historic decision about nationalizing the Bolivian hydrocarbons was taken, in accordance with the people’s mandate, adopted after overcoming neoliberal policies.
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By means of that important decision, the State began recovering the control over strategic sectors of the economy, which allowed us, Bolivians, to take control of the economic surplus previously deprived from us; and apply a policy of income redistribution through Conditional Cash Transfers programmes (Juancito Pinto, Dignity Rent, Juana Azurduy,) public investment, inversely proportional wage increases crossed subsidies, among other measures.<br />
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Through the Economic Social Communitarian Productive Model, we engaged in strengthening the role of the State that now directs the economy for the purpose of transferring the economic suplus -from strategic sectors-to income-employment generating sectors in order to put together existing structures of economic organization in Bolivia (State, community, social, cooperative and private) under the principles of complementarity, reciprocity, solidarity, redistribution, equality, legal certainty, sustainability, equilibrium, justice and transparency.<br />
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In the same vein, we recovered sovereignty on fiscal, monetary, financial and exchange rate policy in order to make them available for the economic and social development of the Bolivian people. Since 2006, for each year we self-design our Fiscal-Financial Programming. Since then, the fiscal policy is focused to achieve growth with income redistribution, output incresing, industrialization, food sovereignty and job creation. We drove de-dollarization of the economy which was before highly dollarized; and we also transformed the financial system in order to go along with the Government’s social objectives. The Government also enhanced and diversified the productive matrix.<br />
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It is also important to highlight that because of the implementation of social and income redistribution policies, supported by higher levels of public investment; we managed to stimulate domestic demand now is the main growth engine, which is oriented towards developing productively and industrially our natural resources and eradicating the multiple dimensions of inequity and poverty.<br />
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In this document, we describe the main achievements reached since 2006, by means of the implementation of the Economic Social Communitarian Productive Model, which are outcomes from a collective effort to improve the quality of living and reach what we call El Vivir Bien (To Live Well) forBolivian people.<br />
<br />
Luis Alberto Arce Catacora<br />
Minister of Economy and Public Finance<br />
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<div style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px auto;">
<a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/262515507/Bolivia-A-Glance-to-the-most-important-achievements" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Bolivia A Glance to the most important achievements on Scribd">Bolivia A Glance to the most important achievements</a></div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="undefined" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_99598" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/262515507/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe>Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-80836530289121225442015-04-15T10:31:00.000+10:002015-04-15T10:31:36.857+10:00Evo Morales: “Here the gringos don’t give the orders, here the indigenous give the orders”<div class="MsoNormal">
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Translation of Evo Morales inauguration speech by Stan
Smith, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chicago
ALBA Solidarity Committee</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brothers and sisters, I am still very surprised how in a
short time, we changed the social and economic situation of the country, but
we<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>need to finish it, we need to deepen
it, we still need to consolidate some policies. What have we done in these
years? Quickly to review our history. </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">How are we in relation to GDP growth?
First I want to clarify according to the last census, we have 10 million
inhabitants.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Real GNP growth before averaged – when I say before, I'm
talking about 1997 to 2005 and when I say after I'm talking about 2005 to 2014
– before, average growth was 3.2%, now it is 5.1% growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to information from international organizations,
this year Bolivia is one of the Latin American and Caribbean countries with
higher economic growth, 5.1%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The nominal GDP in 2005 was $9.521 billion, in 2014 it was $34
billion, from $9 billion to $34 billion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The per capita GDP in 2005 was a thousand dollars; in 2014,
it was $ 3,000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a short time how we
have grown in per capita GDP!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2005, in relation to fiscal surplus and deficit, Bolivia
ranked last in Latin America and the Caribbean with a fiscal deficit of -5.2%.
In 2014 we ranked as the second country, with a growth of 1.2%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of functioning businesses and enterprise creation, in 2005 we
had 19,974 enterprises, in 2014, 144, 000 companies, an increase of 628%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2005 Bolivia collected 1 billion Bolivianos in taxes, in
2014, we collected 64 billion Bolivianos in revenue [7 Bolivianos, in 2014,
equals $1].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I remain convinced,
brothers and sisters, that the Bolivian people trust their government and pay
their taxes, that is the cause of this growth in tax revenue. I request again: it
is important to pay our taxes so we can continue improving the national
economy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">State investment: from 1997 to 2005 a growth of 15%, and in
our administration, a growth of 795%. Brothers and sisters, a growth from 15%
to 795%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When we came into office, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the 2005 state investment was $629 million
dollars, and of this $629 million, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>70%
were loans and [international] cooperation, only 30% were <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from Bolivians, now we still have credits and
cooperation, but just comes to 20 %, 80% investment is with our money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">State investment in 2014 was $5.628 billion. International
reserves before, from 1997 to 2005, grew 61% and in our administration
international reserves grew 782%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before we were left with $1.714 billion, now we have more
than $15 billion in reserves. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember
once our brother David Choquehuanca told us at a meeting in 180 years had just
saved $1.7 billion, at the time he said that our reserves were about $10
billion. He said in our administration we have saved, in six years, to make our
companeros understand, $10 billion. </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Brother Vice-President, brother and sister
ministers, we have withdrawn a billion, as a filter, so that more would be like
$16 billion, more than $16 billion in international reserves.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some data. Net international reserves at December 31, 2014 reached
$15.132 billion representing 45% of GDP.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Public deposits in the financial system and the Central Bank
of Bolivia. Sisters and brothers, in 2005, of the 10 million inhabitants, only 1,000,900
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>deposits; now 7,000,800 Bolivians have bank
deposits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before, how much were the deposits? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3.826 billion Bolivianos in deposits, now
banks have 19.983 billion Bolivianos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the issue of arrears, debt, how were we left? The 2005
had a debt of 10.1%; now we have a debt 1.5%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We want to say tell you, according to international data,
ours is one of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with the
smallest debt: 1.5%, since we raised morale to keep going with credits,
especially with credits for production from the Banco de Desarrollo Productivo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Transfer of resources to departmental and local governments,
municipalities and universities. In 2005 it was 6.669 billion Bolivianos, while
last year it was 29.221 billion Bolivianos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One interesting thing we want to make known, sisters and brothers,
the consolidated expenditure budget for wages and salaries, and gross capital
formation; that is, before what was spent on salaries and what was spent on
investment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2005, spending on salaries was 7.379 billion Bolivianos, and
how much investment? 5.078 billion Bolivianos: more money was spent on salaries
and less on investment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And now there have appeared new items, new companies. We now
spend 27 billion Bolivianos on salaries, but we invest 33.715 billion Bolivianos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Investment in the hydrocarbons sector. The 2005 investment
was just $246 million dollars; but that $246 million dollars was from companies
that were the owners of natural resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last year, how much has been invested in hydrocarbons? $2.050
billion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I want to tell you, comrades of the Central Obrera Boliviana
(COB), when we together asked the imposed governments to nationalize the hydrocarbons,
what was the response? "If we nationalize there will be no investment."
And here what are we showing? With privatization, investment in 2005 was $246
million: nationalized, the investment is $2.050 billion, and mostly from the
economic resources of the Bolivian people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oil revenues. In 2005 how much was it? It was just $300
million in 2005; however that year, with our blockades, marches, with strikes,
we forced the neoliberal government to modify the Hydrocarbons tax, and then
was born the IDH [Direct Tax on Hydrocarbons], and we began the IDH,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and because of that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>oil revenue rose to $600 million.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last year how much has been oil revenue? $5.530 billion,
sisters and brothers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If we realize, sisters and brothers, in the 20 years, with
the so-called capitalization, privatization, how much money did we lose? There
are the data.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A brief summary regarding what are the results of this
administration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Extreme poverty. In 2005 we were left with 37.2% in extreme
poverty; by 2014 we reduced this to 18.8%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reducing income inequality of the population. Sisters and
brothers, in 2005, the richest 10% had 128 times more income than the poorest
10%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By 2013, this difference was reduced to 42 times, from 128
to 42 times, this is the communal socialism that seeks equality among
Bolivians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In terms of basic services, in 2001, just 64.4% had electric
lighting in Bolivia. By 2012 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we have
increased this to 82.3%, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>last year 83.5%
of Bolivians now have light, and here salute you, I salute all departmental
governments, the national government does not lack [electrical] power, nor do
departmental governments of MAS and the opposition, they are electrified, in
Santa Cruz, everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A round of applause for our departmental governors for that
joint work to address basic services, so important to the Bolivian people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Potable water or clean water. In 2001, 71.8%; in 2012, 79.9%;
now 85.2% have safe water in Bolivia, thanks to MiAgua I, II, III program, and
here we have complied with the Millennium Development Goals of the United
Nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In subject of gas. In 2001, only 58% had gas; by 2012 71.7%
and now we have 74.9% who have either gas cylinders or gas to the home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I want to say on the subject of sewage plumbing system we
are in bad shape. In 2001, only 30% of Bolivians had sewage; in 2012, 40%; by
2014 we had 44.7%. I have doubts that this year we can meet the Millennium
Development Goals. This should be the task of governors, mayors and the
national government to achieve, to meet the Millennium Development Goals. We
must recognize that here we have not advanced enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New housing built and delivered from 2001 to 2014. From 2001-
2005, 8,000 households, 1600 households per year. In our administration, 68,000
homes, 7,550 homes per year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Households that
benefited from bonds and annuities: In 2005, there were only 16.5% of
households that benefited; by 2013, 64.3% of families who benefited from bonds
and annuities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is a very important fact, sisters and brothers, so you
know, policies for the elderly, according to the Inter-American Development
Bank, Bolivia has the largest pension coverage at national level, 97% of the over
65 year old population.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many union leaders present here will remember, we made a
march from <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caracollo to ensure a
dignified<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pension; that is, not only
those working in public and private functions can retire, but private bus and
van drivers who have no retirement plans can,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>as can those of the indigenous peasant movement who do not have
retirement income. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And sisters who are
street venders stores, who sell from early morning until night if they want
something, they now have a small income.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This Renta Dignidad helped us a lot, so now Bolivia is
leading in serving our grandmothers and grandfathers who are 60 -65 years old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Regularization and the titling of
native communal lands, before, indigenous peoples were only entitled to 98
titles [deeds]; in our administration, 2006-2014, 383 titles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before, sisters and brothers, people had deeds to only 6
million hectares; Now it is 18 million hectares.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I want to say, the regulated and titled land from 1996 to
2005 was 9 million hectares; we have titled 62 million hectares, for a total of
72 million hectares titled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before, titles delivered - 26,000 titles; in our
administration, 580,000 titles delivered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Beneficiaries, before 175, 000, in our administration
1,400,000 people received titles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most interestingly, earlier titled hectare cost $ 9. When we
started titled hectares, it cost $1, now it has risen, now the titled hectares cost
$2. Before the titled hectare was more expensive hectare, $ 9; we have titled
lands for $2, for the good of the indigenous peasant movement, as entrepreneur.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before, sisters and brothers, only 10% of women had access
to land. Now in our administration, 46% of women have access.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That was not there before, these are the data.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Urban unemployment rate. They left us in 2005 with a 8.1%
unemployment rate; now we have 3.2% unemployment rate, a decrease of 4.8%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brother workers, you cannot complain, before the national
minimum wage, how much was it? $440 Bolivianos, there are facts for you to see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2003, 2004, 2005, the minimum wage was never raised. From
1997-2005 the national minimum wage increased 83%, and our administration has
increased the national minimum wage 227%, not taking into account this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In national minimum wage we are no longer the last country
in South America, within Latin America and the Caribbean, before we were the
last country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The subject of education, we thank the Cuban brothers, who
made a lot of investment. After Cuba, with other countries, we are second in
investment in education, as reported by UNESCO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Net enrollment rate in education. In primary education we
are at 99.82%, almost <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>100%, I think in
this administration we'll get to meet 100% at the primary level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brother Álvaro García Linera, I am concerned about the
secondary level, we are at 72.15% enrollment. Sisters and brothers, in this
administration we have to reach 100% attendance in education at the secondary
level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dropout rate in primary education. When we came to power,
dropout was over 6%, we still have a dropout of 1.4%, and we have reduced it so
much thanks to Bono Juancito Pinto [school voucher for children in elementary
school].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the energy issue, the 2005 demand was just 760 megawatts;
2014, 1,298 megawatts, we have reserves and we have a great plan, sisters and
brothers, we will fulfill this plan so that Bolivia can also share power with
neighboring countries if necessary. We are making large investments in hydroelectric
power, in thermal, solar energy, we still need to extract geothermal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sisters and brothers, all these policies and social programs,
economic policies, permit Bolivia to not only be known and recognized, but even
respected in the international community. This is not a present of Evo Morales,
nor of Álvaro, but I want to say again with our trade union experience, which
is the struggle of our social movements in Bolivia, in a short time, we left
this [pre-2005] colonial state, a pauper and beggar, and now we have a
Plurinational State, respected brothers and sisters, only that can bring us
dignity and unity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But I also want to say as a union leader I participated in the
so-called summits, when governments, presidents met, what our former leaders
said: "I endorse the proposal of that country", "I endorse the USA
proposal," they usually said that. Now we have our own policy and our own
identity in the international community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So we have made some important accomplishments, as our South
American brother presidents know with their support, for example in the UN we had
approved water as a fundamental human right in the world, not only in Latin
America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You will remember the struggle to prevent water privatization
in 2000, in Cochabamba with the support of all the Bolivian people, workers,
farmers, irrigators, businessmen, middle and upper class. We united and stopped
the privatization and we said water is a right human, now we have put it in the
constitution, water is a human right. And not just put it in the constitution,
but we have also brought a proposal to the UN and they approved it almost by consensus
that water is a fundamental right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the United Nations we also had approved living in harmony
with Mother Earth, the Pachamama, a new policy, this debate will continue in
the UN, most importantly brothers and sisters, we succeeded in decriminalizing
our sacred coca leaf, we also made our culture respected. Happily we won this
battle in the UN, now in Bolivia the traditional use of coca leaf is now
respected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I want to say when I had a serious problem with the
international community, I read a report from Harvard University, I think
Victor Gutierrez was on Human Rights to support us, I am sorry he has left us, that
fellow who was of Human Rights abandoned us, and what did the Harvard report say
– that Andean peoples, not only chew but eat coca leaf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes because of having a lot of work, I chew coca leaf,
and it is good for human health, in its natural state. Our male and female
ministers know, some are healing themselves from diabetes with coca leaf. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recommend consuming the coca leaf in its
natural state as a natural food and medicinal resource, happily thanks to the
battle we fought in the international community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brothers and sisters, I also want to tell you, we have
achieved increased international cooperation. Remember in 2005 when I was a
candidate for President, in 2002 what were they telling us? "If Evo is
President there is not going to be cooperation, there will not be any
investment." Why are we proud of our process, what were they saying about
me in 2002 when I was presidential candidate for the first time? Evo is an
Andean Bin Laden and coca growers, the Taliban, and don’t vote for Evo Morales.
This is what the former US ambassador Manuel Rocha said, but when he made this
message, the social movements and leftist parties joined this political
liberation movement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks to the political work of the ministries, especially of
the Foreign Ministry, now several agreements have been signed to increase
cooperation - without conditions - aligned with our national program. Before,
they told us, here is data, if you want credit, it is conditioned on
privatizing natural resources. That has ended, therefore, it was well said what
our brother Vice- President said at a meeting, an event, "now in Bolivia,
the Chicago Boys don’t give the orders, but the Chuquiago Boys" [the
Aymara name for the La Paz region].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pardon the expression, now here the gringos don’t give the
orders, here the indigenous give the orders, that is the pride we have sisters
and brothers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some information. With Chile, faced with their
procrastination over our demand for access to the sea, we directed our demand
to the International Court of Justice, with firmness and consistency in our
historic right to the peaceful pursuit of a sovereign outlet to the Pacific
Ocean. Our demand is on track, since history, justice and for the right to one
day return to the Pacific Ocean with sovereignty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sisters and brothers, I want to briefly tell you, in
relation to drug trafficking, with apologies to the delegation and thank you
very much to the US delegation, who sent a good delegation, special guests we
have, when we had the US military base, when here the US DEA was in charge, not
only of civil society but of Bolivian armed forces and the National Police, how
much coca cultivation did they leave? With 34,000 hectares of coca leaf; last
year we have reduced it to 22,000 hectares of coca, UN data and together with
data of the European Community show. The nationalization of the fight against
drug trafficking, in direct coordination with neighboring countries as well, is
important, now we are now in a better position in the fight against drug
trafficking, without the US military base and without the DEA, that is called
dignity and sovereignty in Bolivia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What responsibility do we have now? In short, I know we're
not doing well in the Bolivian justice, we recognize that, but it is not only
the responsibility of the national government, but it is also the
responsibility of all Bolivian people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And so I want to tell you brothers we decided together with
our college institutions, our national justice experts - there are good lawyers
- but we have to dignify the law, you know very well, in some instances the
Bolivian justice, when the police and the armed forces work to stop criminals,
drug dealers, the next day they are released. How to end that? What needs to be
done about it? For that, we will convene a summit, to make a revolution in
Bolivian justice, from this summit a committee will be formed to develop a proposal
and that proposal will become a referendum and the Bolivian people will decide
on the new Bolivian justice. All social sectors will be called on for this
profound transformation of Bolivian justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By 2020 brothers and sisters, we are committed and we are
convinced that we will reduce extreme poverty to 8% or 9%, we will reduce extreme
poverty, we will fulfill this, because we have learned in the nine years as
president and vice-president in the process of change, it’s not difficult. Besides
that, in three of the nine departments in our country, what we have to fulfill
by 2025 in the patriotic agenda in the departments of Tarija, Oruro and Pando,
we are going to have 100% of basic services, we will move ahead and we will not
wait for 2025 with these three departments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sisters and brothers one of the issues we have, the health
issue, I am not complaining but I am not happy with what we have done so far,
so we decided, and this is already underway, in intermediate cities, we will
guarantee them secondary hospitals. And large sized cities like Montero,
Yacuíba, Riberalta and cities that are departmental capitals, all we'll leave
them with third level hospitals and some we have already begun to build.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not only that, we have a problem with companero Carlos
Villegas, all our solidarity, since we not have hospitals of fourth level,
brother Villegas, the president of YPFB is getting his treatment in Chile. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We salute and thank the doctors from Chile,
also last week our Governor of Cochabamba had a very serious problem heading to
Brazil, Dilma thank you very much, your doctors<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>helped us quite a lot caring for my brother Governor of Cochabamba. I
say with apologies, since Bolivians continue to travel abroad for treatment, in
our administration we must build four hospitals at the fourth level, in La Paz,
Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Besides brothers and sisters, we have an obligation in
direct coordination with mayors and governors to start the universal health
insurance and we'll start with this administration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For the first time since the founding of the republic, we
started adding value to our natural resources, you brothers and sisters know in
hydrocarbons, in lithium we are in a pilot plan, which has had good results so
far. Respecting the rights of Mother Earth we will industrialize our natural,
metallic and nonmetallic resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the other hand, our presidents and vice presidents know,
sometimes at the summits we complain about when we will be freed of US,
European or Asian technology. We salute and respect Argentina and Brazil for their
leadership in the industrialization of technology, but we have many problems,
so we decided brothers and sisters, in the new government program, we will have
a scientific citadel, we will start building our scientific citadel, to have a
knowledge economy, while we to continue providing scholarships to the best
students to the best universities so they can learn, and in this way we will be
liberated in the technology field.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The issue of infrastructure is not much of a problem, my
concern is only the movement on a paved road from east to west. I am very sorry
that a group of companeros hurt us, under the pretext of TIPNIS, when brothers
from Brazil, brother Lula assured us a credit to build roads from Rurrenabaque to
Riberalta. Facing a social problem, we lost this credit. Four, five years we
have lost, we now have guaranteed investment to move from east to west on paved
roads from Rurrenabaque to Riberalta. We will deliver in this administration a
paved road connecting the west with the east of Bolivia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another problem we have is the area of Sillar, it is not
just a departmental issue or of Cochabamba, but throughout Bolivia. The other
roads are small, it is not important as these two routes, Rurrenabaque - Riberalta
or area Sillar, you know, brothers and sisters, if they are not already finished,
the nine departments have funding, some are already finished - three
departments have international airports and others we have incorporated. In
this administration we will leave the nine departments, with one, some even two,
international airports.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brothers and sisters, I want to say to finish this
intervention, all this we accomplished only with the unity of the Bolivian
people, I thank you for nine years in administration, and starting another five
years as president. On behalf of our brother Vice-President and our ministers,
we thank former ministers and thanks to the former assembly members - before ex-Congress
people, now ex-Assembly Members - all contributed, but above all contributed
our social movements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before our history was social conflict, there was no
political stability. Without political stability there is economic stability,
if there is no economic stability, there is no development. This was a country
that never even got up, in my union experience, now my presidential experience,
sometimes from those above and those outside the country, there were policies
of plunder. </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">When the people wanted to free themselves democratically, there was
a coup d’etat, coup after coup. But when a people decides to free themselves,
first we unite and when they cannot divide us, now some foreign powers use drug
trafficking, terrorism, communism, human rights, to intervene once again, to dominate
us and rob us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dominate us politically to rob us economically, when we have
united and we freed ourselves first democratically, politically, we have freed
ourselves economically, that is our experience, so these results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are all the data for review and therefore it shows how
important was the unity and the call to remain united. We all the have right to
have ideological, programmatic differences. We salute our Assembly members,
senators, deputies. I call you to work in a united manner, I want your
proposals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brother opponents, proposals, for the good of the Bolivian
people are welcome, welcome to a culture of dialogue. We discussed this with
brother Choquehuanca, we must discuss, we must listen, it takes work, sometimes
takes time, we are here. Let proposals come to further reduce poverty, to
further improve the economy and we welcome you to work for the good of Bolivia,
because we are brothers and sisters of one homeland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I want to say, I never felt abandoned by our social
movements, we have had some differences, it is a right, we salute the leaders
who made demands on us. We discussed democratically based on the facts,
although some were exaggerated. We have understood each other and eventually
agreed. I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, if we made these results so
far it is thanks to the support of all social movements, how important it was
listening to all the social movements, the Bolivian people organized in social
movements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Happily, now has ended these imposed governments and the
pseudo state, now we have a legitimate, actual democracy. This is expressed
here, I want the international community to know, for the first time, women in
the Assembly represent 50.9% of the members, and most are Bartolinas, [federation
of indigenous women] the second country in the world with greatest
representation of women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My request, with much respect to companeras: companeras,
don’t be even half capricious, if you wouldn’t resent it, women who are so
honest and hardworking, would be in charge in Bolivia. The only thing that hurts
is when they fight among themselves and I do not want fighting, sisters and
brothers, but to continue moving ahead in the representation of women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I want to say in conclusion that I'm very happy, you know
where I come from, but how important to governing has been listening to the
people. How important it has been that in Bolivia businessmen or bankers do not
govern, here the people govern through their democratically elected officials.
That's the difference, here President, Vice President are not behind in how to
improve our economy. We know our families, I greet my sister, relatives of
Álvaro, you know, my sister still sells little things in her store, they know
how to live, here is not a question of doing business with family; that it is
over, brothers and sisters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So companeros and companeras, that's the struggle, the commitment,
based on our values, Ama Sua, Ama Llulla, Ama Quella [Don’t steal, don’t lie,
don’t be lazy] that's the standard left by our ancestors and based on that
standard we will continue to serve the Bolivian people these five more years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I say to you Assembly members, I say to the Bolivian people,
thank you very much for having confidence in us for five more years, we know
how to work, we know how to mobilize. Now you know that politics is not a
business, it not for personal profit, now it is service, work and more commitment
to the Bolivian people. That we have learned and that is why those
accomplishments are for the good of all the people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-89667615046156442442015-04-14T17:13:00.000+10:002015-04-14T17:14:03.806+10:00Evo Morales in Tiwanaku: “The world can no longer tolerate development in the name of modernity”<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Introduction
and translation by Stan Smith, Chicago ALBA Solidarity Committee</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apartheid
was not unique to South Africa – or Israel. The Original Peoples of the
Americas have suffered from a similar long history of apartheid. In Bolivia, institutionalized
racism and discrimination against the Original Peoples flourished. President
Evo Morales said his mother told him that, like other indigenous people from
the countryside, she was not even allowed to enter a city. The end to this
apartheid came with Evo Morales being elected president in 2005, elected with 54%
of the vote, followed by 64% in 2009 and 61% in 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Evo
Morales is said to be the only Original Peoples president elected in Latin
America since the times of Mexico’s Zapotec president Benito Juarez (1858-1871),
who was president while, in the recently stolen California, the American white
man was still hunting the Original Peoples down and killing them, given $50 a
scalp by the California government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hermano
companero Presidente Evo Morales, as he is referred to in Bolivia, was a
campesino union leader heading a national movement, instituting </span><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 19.933334350585938px;">“</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">The Process of
Change” upon election. (Evo is still president of the union of cocalero
farmers). As many Bolivian Original Peoples activists explain “for 500 years we
were ruled by los colonizadores [the colonizers] and now we, los Pueblos
Originales [the Original Peoples] are in charge and we are not going back.</span><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 19.933334350585938px;">”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
re-election of Evo Morales was deliberately scheduled to take place on October
12, in repudiation of Columbus Day. A few days before, in El Alto, near and
just above the capital of La Paz, in an entirely indigenous city, over one
million people, 1 out of 10 Bolivians, turned out to celebrate at their brother
President Evo’s closing campaign rally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A
striking example of the restored pride of Bolivia’s Original Peoples was Evo’s
first ceremony of his two-day presidential inauguration, at the pre-Incan city
of Tiwanaku. Here on January 21 indigenous spiritual leaders performed the
ancient rites and ceremonies for preparation and purification the indigenous
leader. Only after this, on the 22<sup>nd</sup>, did the second ceremony swear
in Evo as a head of state, in the “Peoples House” as presidential palace has
been renamed. </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Outside the ruins of Tiwanaku, on a vast field, filled with
thousands and thousands Original Peoples, dressed in their traditional clothes,
watched rapt attention their traditional ceremonial rites performed in front of
their eyes, listening closely to Evo’ speech.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
was not some TV documentary re-enactment of ancient sacred ceremonies. It was
the President, the head of state of a modern nation, officially participating
in the performance of the traditional rites of leadership of the peoples.
Following came an all-afternoon parade by the different indigenous peoples
dressed their customary garb, walking and dancing past the presidential viewing
stand. Repeatedly, Evo and Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera came from the
viewing stand to dance with the delegations parading by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
impact of Evo Morales’ electoral victories on the original peoples of Bolivia
and Latin America is tremendous. As Evo said, with 1532, descended the long
black night of their suffering, but now the light of the sun has returned to
the sky. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What
is this “process of change”? Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, has
had an annual growth rate of 5%, from 2005-2014. The GNP has grown from $9.5 billion
to $34 billion. Evo’s government created 500,00 jobs in just his first term,
and now unemployment has dropped from 8.1% to 3.2%. The minimum wage has gone
up 227%. Extreme poverty has been reduced from 37% of the population to 19%. Before,
in 2005, the richest 10% had 128 times more income than the poorest 10%. Now it
is 42 times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One
in five more Bolivians than before now have electricity in their homes. 50% more
now have indoor plumbing. Illiteracy has been eliminated, traditional languages
have been restored, having equal status with Spanish. 97% of seniors now
receive at least some small pension. Before, only 10% of women had access to
land, now 46% do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Between 2006 and 2010 over one third of Bolivian
land was handed over to peasant communities to be run communally, and one-fifth
of Bolivian land, previously illegally occupied by large landowners, has been
mostly converted to protected forest lands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How
have these social gains has this been possible? One precondition was ending the
looting of Bolivia’s wealth. Evo put it simply, “Now here the gringos don’t
give the orders, here the indigenous give the orders.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before
2005, 87% of Bolivia’s oil and gas wealth went to foreign corporations. Now the
reverse: the state retains 80-90%. In 2005, national oil revenue amounted to
$300 million. In 2014 this revenue was $5.5 billion. In just the year 2011 the
state received as much revenue from the hydrocarbon sector as it did from
1996-2005.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
shows, as Evo says in his January 22 speech, how much national wealth has been
lost. Bolivia’s economic success is a direct result of the MAS government’s
program for economic transformation, based on weakening Western corporate
control over the economy and diversifying it away from its dependency on raw
material exports.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
proceeds from these 10 years of economic prosperity have largely been
redistributed to the country’s poor and indigenous majority. Morales’s
state-led economic policy, emphasizing the re-nationalization of strategic
sectors privatized by past neoliberal governments (hydrocarbons,
telecommunications, electricity, and some mines), has vastly increased revenues
for public works, infrastructure improvements, social spending, and economic
benefits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cash
transfer programs for the elderly, school children, and pregnant mothers have
reduced income inequality and infant mortality, boosted school attendance and
high school graduation rates. In short, Morales’ economic and redistributive
policies have significantly improved the living standards of average Bolivians.
But as Evo notes below, “if we made these results so far, it is through the
support of all the social movements, the Bolivian people organized in social
movements.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Excerpts from Evo Morales’ Inauguration
speech at Tiwanaku, January 21, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
make this ceremony in this sacred place for all the indigenous peoples of the
world, and non-indigenous peoples of the world. We make this ceremony to thank
our male and female leaders who have given their lives for us, to thank Tupac
Amaru, Micaela Bastidas, to thank Tupac Katari and Bartolina Sisa, to the Katari
brothers from the north of Potosi, Nicolas Damaso and Tomas, Apiaguaiqui Tumpa
of western Bolivia, to Zarate Willca, to Caupolican and Lautaro, to the leaders
of the Indian peoples of North America, Geronimo, the last Apache warrior, to
White Bear and Sitting Bull, to the peoples of Africa and South Africa who have
suffered and suffer our same history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear
brothers and sisters, Tiwanaku was a great city, this millennia old city, when
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in year zero of our era, this city was already a
sacred ceremonial center for the entire Andean territory, related
scientifically and commercially with the peoples of the low lands and with
those of the north and south of our continent. Our territory touched the
Pacific coast, when we had a coastline, our sea, which they seek to deny us
today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here
was the technology to raise llamas in the entire Andean area, here they
practiced specialized cures for health, here they practiced the arts of working
the land, textiles, ceramics, metalwork. Here they studied irrigation
technology, a system of roads to unite the north, south, east, west
territories, social organization and governments at the different territorial
levels. Here they practiced philosophy, science, technology, literature,
religion and above all they practiced values of life and ethics. Sisters and brothers,
here we make plans in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century as one of the de-colonized
nations of the world, where Living Well is our philosophy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Liberalism,
European socialism is of no use to us in reaching this objective, history has
passed them by along with the liberal colonizer republic of Bolivia. Our
ancestors here in Tiwanaku did not know poverty, poverty is a product of
colonialization and the social and economic development models imposed by the
capitalist countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore,
we here plan our future with sumaj kamaña, with Allin Kawsay, with Vivir Bien,
with Sumaj Qamaña, with knowing how to feed ourselves, knowing how to work,
knowing how to dance, knowing how to govern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To
know how to communicate, how to listen, how to dream of our future, to know how
to produce, how to share, how to return to the culture of respect between
people, respect for the elders, respect for the children, for Mother Earth, to
return to our ayllus [traditional Aymara-Quechua communal governance], all this
is in agreement with our amuto, our ideology.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
want to take advantage of this opportunity and tell you, brothers and sisters,
that the best inheritance from my parents has been respect, my father and
mother told me, “Evito, if you want to be respected in life, know how to respect
those older and younger than you.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
are a people with body and soul, rebellious and insurgent, we are a people who
since remote times until today have been inspired with the sua spirit not to be
thieves, the llulla spirit not to lie, and the kella spirit not to be lazy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our
culture is the most valuable capital we have to reconstruct our ayllu so that
the children of Pachamama can breathe happily, in clean air, and drink
uncontaminated water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Remember
in 1532, when the Spaniards Pizarro and Almargo in Cuzco began to kill our wise
Amauta leaders, our grandfather Atahualpa in Cajamarca and pursue gold at
whatever the cost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our
Amautas ordered that our treasures be hidden and protected, our cultural
treasures, our archaeological monuments, our sacred cities. The human values,
economic principles and social principles of living together, because the day
had finished and the black night of suffering began.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
they said that the sun will return some day, and that day when we will retake
our cultural treasures and we will again be ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore
we see that the archaeologists in 1920 discovered Tiwanaku, Cuzco and other
places our sacred places, they continued discovering the pyramids here at
Tiwanaku, but they were incapable of reading what was written here, they interpreted
what they saw according to their understanding, according to their Western
logic. This is part of our culture, we bring it up to the present so that we
can realize and apply our policy of Vivir Bien. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Brothers
and sisters when we speak of recuperating and strengthening our cultural
heritage, our identity as a Plurinational state, many people think we are
planning to return to the past. No, we are not planning to return to a
romanticized past, but a scientific recuperation of the best of our past to
combine it with modernity, but a modernity that permits us to make industries
without danger to Mother Earth, with a modernity that permits us to develop
with Pachamama. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So
it is question of reestablishing equilibrium between human beings and Mother
Earth, between men and women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
world can no longer tolerate development in the name of modernity, the
industrialized countries are overindustrialized and that has a cost to Mother
Earth, Pachamama.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
are seeing the destruction of the planet, it is necessary to stop this crazy
road of destruction of the planet in the name of development, if we the
indigenous peoples lived like the European countries where the father has his
car, the mother has her car, the son has his car, and the daughter has her car,
everyone lives in their car. If we lived like that, studies show we need
another planet just to park the cars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
is not an issue of races, it is not a color problem, because it is not the
color of my face that kills you, what kills you is the color of the water you
drink, what kills you is the smell of the air you breathe, we are thousands of
colors, but only one planet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore,
sisters and brothers, let Pachamama illuminate our way, let our Apus, our
Uyuviris, guide us on this road constructing a different way of life, with
individual rights, with a life full of happiness, harmony, the peace of
brotherhood, where no one sees politics as a business, but that politics is a
service to our peoples, where politics means more sacrifice for the good of
humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 13.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sisters
and brothers, I take advantage of this opportunity to thank the Original
People, this age-old people, to thank the social movements for organizing this
age-old event so sacred for life, for humanity. And I say we have the duty to
defend life, to defend life is to save the planet earth and finish with
capitalism and imperialism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-61772093541266819882015-04-13T17:05:00.001+10:002015-04-13T17:06:00.506+10:00Bolivia: 'Spaceships' invade El Alto<style>
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<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nick Caistor</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cityscape of La Paz, Bolivia’s political and
business capital is one of the most dramatic in the world.</span></div>
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sprawls along a huge gorge that cuts through the Andean altiplano plateau.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">More than a million people live there, and in the city
centre glass skyscrapers are rapidly replacing the old single storey buildings,
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But almost as many people live in El Alto, the city
that has grown up on the top of the altiplano above La Paz, close to the
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is here that most of the Quechua and Aymara
migrants who flock to Bolivia’s metropolis choose to settle: land prices are
much lower, and the opportunity to build homes much greater, with fewer
planning restrictions and more space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Most of El Alto’s buildings are nondescript brick and
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indigenous business people who have thrived under President Evo Morales, as
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the past decade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A new indigenous middle class is emerging, and they
want to flaunt their success. Increasingly, the greatest status symbol they can
have is a building designed by Freddy Mamani Silvestre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Between them they have built some 80 of these El Alto
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I want society to value what we are doing,” says
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes;">M</span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">amani Silvestre designs the highly-coloured ornate palaces with sketches
on paper, and claims never to have used a computer or other digital aids. He
says the bright colours come from the vivid textiles made by Aymara women like
his mother.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His buildings are usually five storeys high, with
shops on the ground floor, two storeys above them given over to a huge
salon-cum-ballroom, apartments on the floor above that, and a smaller penthouse
built on the roof for the owners known as the ‘chalet’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One writer has described the interiors as:
‘spellbinding tapestries of bright paint, LED lights and playful Andean motifs:
chandeliers anchored to butterfly symbols, doorways that resemble owls and
candy-coloured pillars that could hold up a Willy Wonka factory… One soaring
wedding hall evokes the inside of a reptile, with arching roof beams like
dragon ribs and huge orange curlicue mouldings that could be alligator eyes.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mamani Silvestre’s creations can cost as much as $US
500, 000 but he has an overflowing order book - the new rich of Bolivia want to
show off their wealth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“There have always been rich Aymara, but before Evo,
they were timid. They didn’t want to draw attention to themselves,” Mamani
Silvestre told one journalist. “Now they say: ‘This is where the successful
Aymara live.’ They are proud of Evo, and they say: ‘I have wealth, I can show
it off. I don’t have anything to hide.’”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the same time, these altiplano entrepreneurs hope
to earn their investment back not only by renting the apartment but by hiring
out the salons for quinceañera celebrations and weddings, occasions when no
expense is spared in the Aymara community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dismissed by some as mere kitsch, others see his work
as the continuation of a very Andean kind of architecture, and photographs of
the ‘spaceships’ recently caused a stir when they were exhibited at London’s
prestigious Architectural Association early in 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The photographs were taken from a book on Freddy
Mamani Silvestre’s work by Elizabetta Andreoli and Ligia D’Andrea, <i>Arquitectura
andina de Bolivia: la obra de Mamani Silvestre. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Andreoli herself has no doubt about the value of the
new architectural phenomenon: ‘at its heart is a fundamentally contemporary
urban version of indigenous cultural elements,’ she says.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is most remarkable, Andreolio argues, is that these aspiring newly
rich Bolivians no longer feel the need to follow the architectural norms of the
developed world, but have the self-confidence to assert their own identity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Republished from <a href="http://lab.org.uk/bolivia-spaceships-invade-el-alto">LAB</a> where you can also find photos of a range of building in El Alto </i></span></div>
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Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-35301583360778219742015-04-07T12:11:00.003+10:002015-04-07T12:11:38.919+10:00Bolivia’s voters reaffirm ‘process of change’ but issue warnings to the governing MAS<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">
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<b><i>By Richard Fidler</i></b></div>
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Up to 90% of the electorate voted in Bolivia’s “subnational” elections March 29 for governors, mayors and departmental assembly and municipal council members throughout the country. These were the second such elections to be held since the new Constitution came into force in 2009, the first being in 2010. </div>
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The Movement for Socialism (MAS)[1] once again emerged as the only party with national representation — by far the major political force in Bolivia, and far ahead of the opposition parties, none of which has a significant presence in all nine departments. However, in some key contests the voters rebuffed the MAS candidates, most notably for governor in La Paz department and for mayor in the city of El Alto, the centre of the 2003-2005 upsurges and long considered a MAS bastion. </div>
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<b>Mixed results</b></div>
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With 66% of the popular vote in the municipal elections, the MAS elected mayors in 225 of Bolivia’s 339 towns and cities, about the same result as in 2010. However, consistent with a pattern in recent years, the various opposition parties won in eight of the ten largest cities while the MAS gained only two, Sucre and Potosí. </div>
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In the departmental legislative assemblies, the MAS deputies now hold a clear majority of seats in six departments, and a plurality in two others, while in Santa Cruz the party is only two seats from a plurality. Even in La Paz department the newly elected opposition governor will have to contend with a two-thirds MAS majority in the legislature. </div>
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Although the official results are not yet available, the MAS did well in the municipal council elections, too. The results of elections in autonomous indigenous communities, which are conducted according to ancient “usos y costumbres” (customs and traditions), are not yet known. </div>
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The MAS elected governors in four of the country’s nine departments and is leading in two other departments with runoff elections scheduled for May 3. (Under Bolivia’s election laws, a runoff is held when the candidates coming 1<sup>st</sup>and 2<sup>nd</sup> in the vote, with neither having 50% of the votes, are separated by fewer than 10 percentage points.) Opposition parties elected governors in three departments including Santa Cruz and Tarija, traditionally associated with the “Media Luna” (half moon) set of departments that participated in the unsuccessful 2008 revolt of the powerful landholder elite in the eastern lowlands. </div>
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However, the major upsets for the MAS were in the department of La Paz, where Felix Patzi, an Aymara intellectual and minister of education in Evo Morales’ first government, was elected governor with a 20 percentage points advance over the MAS candidate, Felipa Huanca, a leader of the “Bartolinas,”[2] an indigenous and campesina (farmer) women’s organization that is one of Bolivia’s major social movements. Patzi ran on the slate of Soberanía y Libertad (Sovereignty and Liberty - SOL.BO), a reconstruction of the Movimiento Sin Miedo (the “fearless movement”), which lost its party certification in the October 2014 elections when it won less than 3% of the national vote. SOL.BO also retained the mayoralty and a council majority in the city of La Paz, the country’s administrative capital. </div>
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Particularly galling to the MAS was its defeat in the El Alto mayoralty by an Aymara woman, Soledad Chapetón of Unidad National (UN). The right-wing UN is Bolivia’s largest opposition party; its leader Samuel Doria Medina took 25% of the vote in last year’s presidential election. Chapetón’s campaign emphasized her personal qualities, not the UN, but her election raises some questions as to why that party was able to capitalize on the MAS discredit in this particular instance. In fact, with the possible exception of governor-elect Felix Patzi in La Paz,[3] virtually all of the opposition candidates and parties in the subnational elections, can be said to be to the right of the MAS. This bears further examination, something beyond the scope of this article. </div>
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<b>Local issues predominate</b></div>
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The MAS leadership was quick to attribute its electoral setbacks to local factors. Among these were inadequate procedures for selecting the party’s candidates. These are normally suggested by the party members and social movements aligned with the MAS, but office-holder inertia and in some cases a misgauging of political moods can adversely affect the choice. In El Alto, for example, the MAS was widely thought to have ignored community criticism of incompetent administration and even corruption on the part of the mayor, the MAS’s Édgar Patana. </div>
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Many analysts have also pointed to a major difference with the 2010 subnational elections. In 2010 the euphoria that accompanied the adoption of a new plurinational Constitution and the defeat of the right-wing landholders’ rebellion gave MAS candidates, many running for the first time, a big advantage. Five years later, however, the voters were more inclined to examine incumbents’ records critically in light of their experience. This was evident in the way that voters ignored MAS leadership appeals to vote the party slate; in many instances, they divided their votes among different party slates depending on the candidates and their respective offices. This may, as some analysts contend, indicate a growing political awareness among the electorate. </div>
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In subnational elections, as well, local issues can be decisive in the result. In the <a href="http://lifeonleft.blogspot.ca/2014/10/bolivias-evo-morales-re-elected-but.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">October 2014 national election</a>, voters indicated their overall satisfaction with the country’s direction under the MAS and its proposed “Agenda Patriótica,” a set of general social and economic goals and reforms to be addressed in the coming mandate. In the subnational elections, those goals were not in question and there was in fact remarkably little public debate among conflicting party perspectives and programs. The MAS candidates all stood on the party’s national program. The MAS seemed to assume that without more it could capitalize regionally on the 61% support the party’s national leadership had won last October. It may have underestimated the importance of local issues. </div>
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<b>Autonomy processes still incomplete</b></div>
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But also undermining programmatic debate in these elections was the difficulty in discerning the full measure of local government powers in many cases, since the complicated process of defining those powers under the new Constitution remains incomplete. Bolivia is not a federal state with a clear division of powers among the various levels of government. However, the Constitution sets out general criteria for defining the “autonomous” jurisdictions of departments, regions, municipalities and the few indigenous communities that have opted for legal status as “autonomies.” </div>
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So far only one department, Pando (the smallest), has completed the complex process of achieving autonomy: popular consultation and drafting of a local constitution, its approval by the national constitutional authority, followed by amendment where needed with approval in a popular referendum and, finally, proclamation by the national government. Five departments are scheduled to hold their ratification referendums on autonomy in June of this year. But few of the 339 municipalities have yet gained full autonomous status, as anticipated. These factors leave much to be determined in the budgetary provisions of the various administrations — and will continue to be a major topic of debate as the national government negotiates its “pacto fiscal” (tax and budget allocation agreements) with the various governments and social movements. </div>
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In this context, and absent debate over general programmatic alternatives, the subnational election results may have offered above all a measure of public sentiment about the performance and perspectives of local governments. That was how Evo Morales interpreted them; the President, in his few post-election remarks about the results, conceded that some of the MAS setbacks may been merited. </div>
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<b>Threats against opposition administrations</b></div>
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Morales himself may have been a factor in some of the MAS electoral setbacks, however. On more than one occasion during the subnational election campaign, he arrogantly threatened to refuse to work with local governments held by opposition parties and even to deny them national government funding for major projects. These statements elicited much criticism in the media and may have resulted in an anti-MAS “voto castigo” (punishment vote) in some contests. But they have their roots in the country’s current political culture. </div>
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In Bolivia many local construction projects ranging from highways, irrigation facilities, football stadiums and arenas to hospitals and health centres, schools and some productive investments are funded under a national government program titled “<i>Bolivia Cambio, Evo Cumple</i>” (Bolivia changes, Evo accomplishes), financed largely by Venezuela under an ALBA agreement. And both Morales and his vice-president Álvaro García Linera spend much of their time inaugurating such public works in official ceremonies. Non-MAS elected officials naturally resent this program designation, which serves to credit the MAS (and its top leader) as a virtual synonym for the state. </div>
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It is worth noting, however, that in the wake of the subnational elections leaders of some social movements long associated with the MAS were critical of Morales’ threats, urging the party to work with local governments on progressive projects. </div>
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<b>Fondo Indígena</b></div>
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Another factor in MAS losses may have been a scandal that erupted during the campaign over alleged abuses in the Fondo Indígena. This “indigenous fund” was created in December 2005, just prior to the MAS’s first election, to implement international and national agreements on indigenous rights and to help finance infrastructure projects in indigenous towns and farming communities. It is administered by eight indigenous social movements that also tend to support the MAS politically. The Fund holds about $270 million, much of this derived from hydrocarbon revenues and taxes. </div>
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In December 2016 a national prosecution lawyer charged that about 71 million Bolivianos ($10 million) of the Fund intended for more than 150 as-yet unrealized development projects had been diverted to private bank accounts held by at least eight leaders of these social movements — one of these (according to an opposition politician) being Felipa Huanca, a prominent Bartolina and the MAS candidate for governor in La Paz. Subsequent media reports indicated that the Fund’s leadership, which is supposed to meet every two months, had not met since March 2012. </div>
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Rumours that the Fund was being used for clientelist purposes were fed by the lack of response from Fund leaders. Only after the March 29 election did the Bartolinas hold a news conference, promising a later accounting but maintaining that their own rules allowed this extraordinary management of the Fund’s monies even though this violates a legislated obligation that all Fund accounts must be held within a special system in a designated bank. </div>
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The national Transparency Minister has now announced that a full report on the allegations will be issued by mid-April. Any persons guilty of illegal diversion of funds will be prosecuted, she promises. </div>
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<b>In Beni, a harsh ruling by the elections overseer</b></div>
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In a move that surprised almost everyone, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal[4]— the national body that supervises all elections in Bolivia — ruled just nine days before the March 29 elections that in Beni department it was withdrawing certification of the opposition Unidad Demócrata (UD – Democratic Unity) alliance because its campaign chief, the outgoing governor Carmelo Lens, had publicly released an internal poll, contrary to election law. The UD was at the time thought to be leading in the contest for governor. All UD candidates in Beni were accordingly disqualified, some 228 in all. </div>
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The TSE ruling was based on a literal interpretation of an obscure provision in the country’s Election Act. Was it too literal? The supreme legal authority, the Tribunal Constitucional Plurinational, dismissed an emergency challenge of the TSE ruling, but it was widely criticized, and many saw the action as evidence of MAS control of the TSE. The Inter-American Human Rights Commission (CIDH) is investigating, and observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) used the opportunity to “regret” the TSE’s action. </div>
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After the election the TSE declared it was prepared in future to support an amendment to the law that would remove the provision in question. Significantly, the voter abstention in Beni was extraordinarily high on March 29, about 20%, while a further 7% of the ballots were blank and almost 8% were ruled null or void for various reasons — adding to uncertainty about the outcome of the May 3 runoff vote. </div>
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<b>Challenges ahead</b></div>
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The subnational election results, while confirming the MAS’s overall leadership in Bolivia, are in some respects a “shot across the bows” to the party’s leading cadres, a reminder that there is still much to be done to consolidate and deepen the “process of change.” With the current drop in global commodity prices Bolivia, as a small country still very dependent on resource export revenues, is encountering new challenges. </div>
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Brazil and Argentina are in economic difficulty and the value of hydrocarbon exports (chiefly gas) to those major markets has fallen by almost 30% in the last quarter from the equivalent period in 2014, along with comparable declines in the country’s agribusiness and industrial exports.[5] Finance Minister Luís Arce recent downgraded GDP growth projections for 2015 to 5% — albeit still one of the highest in South America. But any further drop could jeopardize some of the conditional transfer programs such as the two-month wage or compensation (<i>doble aguinaldo</i>) granted by law in the two previous year-ends. Also the <i>bonos</i> (conditional cash grants) programs are financed largely through hydrocarbon revenues, as is much state funding to subnational levels of government. </div>
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The MAS government program ratified in the October national election projects a major focus in the next period on industrialization projects and expansion of the domestic market to bolster food and industrial self-sufficiency, as well as replacement of present conditional programs in health and education by development of universal programs, a deepening of agrarian reform, and strengthening of the “worker-indigenous-popular” bloc that is the mainstay of the MAS. This entails major social and political transformations that can deepen democracy, incorporate participatory and communitarian practices and help to overcome colonial and patriarchal ways of thinking and doing. </div>
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These proposals should be on the agenda as the various pro-government social movements meet in the coming days with MAS leaders to discuss the election and the road ahead. </div>
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<i>April 6, 2015.</i></div>
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<i>Note: I profess no expertise on Bolivian politics, but I have visited Bolivia several times in recent years and was based there for six months in 2013-2014, during which I developed a deep appreciation of its “process of change” of the last 15 years, with all of its complexities, achievements, frustrations and “creative tensions.” – Richard Fidler.</i></div>
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<i>Republished from <a href="http://lifeonleft.blogspot.ca/2015/04/bolivias-voters-reaffirm-process-of.html">Life on the Left</a></i></div>
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[1] Movement for Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (MAS-IPSP) is the party’s full name. </div>
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[2] Confederación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas Indígenas Originarias de Bolivia “Bartolina Sisa” (CNMCIOB-BS), or Bartolina Sisa National Confederation of Campesino, Indigenous, and Native Women of Bolivia, named after an Aymara woman leader of an 18<sup>th</sup> century revolt against the Spanish colonization. </div>
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[3] As Evo Morales’s first education minister, Patzi was hounded by the Right and the Catholic church when he attempted to secularize the public education curriculum. His ideas (which are his, not those of his party in this election), are set out in <a href="https://doc-14-8o-apps-viewer.googleusercontent.com/viewer/secure/pdf/f6s56405emorrj1sm8ilgc6lseg2cv05/rjq7ka88tjmldc0gp00hdb95ho80j0m1/1428367425000/drive/07317677032088890092/ACFrOgAGudl-qgzAHBH6RDRMHRuoCH1QDlI_Fg15jG-2z0ombnAJTU7kRoB7-Hfo4bSboxJsBhwk0wr6VSjatmsdq7JBXTvs409bf1PeOtCGhkJ_pud5Y42BPRG4yH4=?print=true&nonce=11530i71hihra&user=07317677032088890092&hash=iritvlf787qa5uiplm2le68m6hb148rs" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Tercer Sistema – Modelo Comunal: Propuesta Alternativa Para Salir del Capitalism y del Socialismo</a>. </div>
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[4] Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE). </div>
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[5] See “<a href="http://www.la-razon.com/economia/INE-venta-gas-sigue-caida-precios-petroleo_0_2245575457.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Venta de gas sigue a la baja por caída en los precios del petróleo</a>,” <i>La Razón</i>, April 2, 2015.</div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-32278721455289877292014-12-18T04:31:00.002+11:002014-12-18T04:31:27.987+11:00Elections in Bolivia: Some Keys to Evo Morales’s Victory <span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Pablo Stefanoni</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The
elections held on October 12th in Bolivia confirmed the hegemony of the
Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo – MAS) and showed
that Evo Morales’ leadership remains strong after his eight years in
office, an intrinsically relevant fact in a country known for its
political, economic and social instability. Evo Morales and his running
mate Álvaro García Linera were supported by 61.36% of the votes compared
to 24.23% for the Democratic Unity (Unidad Democrática - UD), headed by
politician and businessman Samuel Doria Medina, and to 9.04% for the
former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who ran for the Christian
Democratic Party (Partido Demócrata Cristiano). In La Paz, the seat of
government, the ruling party won by a margin of 68.92% to 14.75% for the
UD. With these results, the MAS has managed not only to retain the two
thirds of the Congress it has had since 2009, but also, a politically
and symbolically significant result, to win in Santa Cruz -a formerly
opposing region located in the agro-industrial East of the country- with
almost 50% of the votes.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">In general terms, the election results show a drop in votes
for the MAS in the Andean West –but from exceptionally high previous
levels–, parallel to an increase in the East. For example, in La Paz,
the MAS had obtained 80.28% in 2009, which means it went down more than
10 points. However, given the extraordinary result of that year, the
present decrease did not prevent the party from “keeping it all” this
time, that is, all of the uninominal representatives and the four
senators running in La Paz. The same happened in regions like Oruro and
Potosí. While in 2009 the epics of the fight against the autonomist
regions –accused of promoting separatism and counter-revolutionary
coups– rallied votes that probably exceeded those supporting Evo Morales
in normal circumstances, on October 12th the secure victory relaxed his
party’s fighting efforts, and the political mystique moved to the
formerly opposing regions.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">But ideology is not the only reason for the ruling party's
victory in Santa Cruz (at present, only the department of Beni maintains
an opposing stance, though the MAS obtained over 40% of the votes cast
there), fostered by former Minister of Government Carlos Romero. Here,
Evo Morales' party applied a pragmatic policy allowing entry to the MAS
of a small group of activists from the rightwing Nationalist Democratic
Action (Acción Democrática Nacionalista – ADN, the party founded by
General Hugo Bánzer), and of congresswoman Jessica Echeverría, who had
successively belonged to various rightwing groups –she had even been
elected as Tuto Quiroga’s spokeswoman a few days before– and in 2008 was
part of the radical “cruceñismo”. Upon switching to the ruling party,
this evangelic representative apologized for "having incited hatred" in
those times of political polarization.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Nowadays, the situation is significantly different from
that of 2008/2009, when Santa Cruz was at war against La Paz. In a
context of economic growth, and following the defeat of the more radical
sectors, the Government approached the business community with an
implicit agreement by which business people recognize the legitimacy of
the president, and he recognizes the legitimacy of the Santa Cruz model
of capitalism. This had the effect of consolidating, after a first
period of polarization and confrontation, the “negotiated way out”
proposed by García Linera when he ran for the vice-presidency in 2005.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Change and Decolonization</strong></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">In these eight years of Morales' administration, several
radical notions of the good society have been left aside in the
Democratic and Cultural Revolution, giving rise to some dissents voices
that have failed to result in votes. Radical indigenism,
communitarianism, the diffuse “living well” (<em>suma qamaña</em>), the
plurinational views or decolonization visions associated with the
“otherness” of the indigenous world or with its anti-capitalist
potential, have all weakened and given way to the priority of public
management and to more market-friendly ways of decolonizing.
Additionally, the population census of 2012 showed some seemingly
paradoxical data: while in 2001 62% of Bolivians over the age of 15
identified themselves as indigenous, now only 42% did so (an important
fact given that the previous census had provided statistic and moral
support to all the struggles carried on since the early 2000s).</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are many factors that may have caused such identity
shift, including a change of terms in the pertaining question, where
“native indigenous” was replaced by “peasant-native-indigenous” as
expressed in the new Constitution, just at a time when Bolivia is a
predominantly urban country. Equally important is the fact that in 2001
the indigenous identity challenged the established order while nowadays
it is official, even when mixed-raced urban Bolivia doesn't always feel
comfortable with such State indigenism.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Finally, most people in Bolivia are “partly” indigenous and
“partly” mixed-raced, so variability in identities is not uncommon,
especially among the Quechua people, who are the majority. The Quechuas
lack, as pointed out by Pablo Quisbert and Vincent Nicolas in their
recent book <em>Pachakuti: El retorno de la nación</em><sup>1</sup>,
such ethno-national symbols or heroes as the Aymaras have with Tupac
Katari or the rainbow flag called wiphala. What is essentially Quechua
is rather a language that unites various local "nations".</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Evo manifested his surprise at the census results, but
considered them a secondary issue and remarked that anyway, as is the
case when throwing dice, "what you see is what you score.”
Vice-President Álvaro García Linera then wrote a text titled <em>Nación y Mestizaje</em> (Nation and Miscegenation) defending plurinationality.<sup>2</sup> But Evo, who knows how to “score” in <em>cacho</em>,
a popular game in Bolivia, also knows how to make adjustments in his
campaigns with the instinct of an experienced union leader.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">This context fostered a shift in the MAS towards the
proposal of technological advancement as the main focus of its electoral
campaign: the cable-car transport between La Paz and El Alto, the
satellite named Tupac Katari, the promise of a “city of knowledge” in
Cochabamba, and even the controversial proposal of advancing towards
nuclear power, were all part of the party’s program. It also included
re-launching the construction of the road running across the Indigenous
Territory and National Park Isiboro Sécure, which was suspended in 2012
due to protests against the project.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Neo-Developmentalist Perspectives</strong></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The 2014 electoral campaign was focused on the country’s
economy, which has grown steadily during the last eight years by means
of a combination of economic nationalism (strengthening of the State)
and fiscal caution –commended by media such as the New York Times and
even by libertarian economists like Tyler Cowen[3]-. It’s worth
recalling that when a leftwing government once ruled in Bolivia
(1982-1985), it was forced to leave office early as a result of a brutal
hyperinflation that generated a social trauma. The memory of that
circumstance, coupled with Evo’s peasant subjectivity expressed in his
aversion to debts and a tendency to "keep the money under the mattress,"
explains why Bolivia today has 15.000 billion dollars in international
reserves, equivalent to 51% of the GDP. The Minister of Economy, Luis
Arce, has made sure since the very first day of Evo’s administration
that the macro variables are kept in order.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The economy is the factor that contributed to operate what
analyst Fernando Molina characterized as the political "depolarization"
in the country.<sup>4</sup> At the same time, this economic
stability –which Evo Morales showcased as the main reason to vote for
the MAS– poses a sort of division in the Bolivarian bloc between Bolivia
and Ecuador, on the one hand, and Venezuela on the other, as well as an
overall weakening of the “XXI Century Socialism" and a strengthening of
neo-developmentalist perspectives. The content of this narrative –taken
in a sense not necessarily coincidental with that of Carlos Bresser
Pereira, the Brazilian who created the concept– was defined very clearly
by Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, who some time ago highly praised
the Israeli model of innovation, development and business-minded vision,
and criticized "conservative leftwing movements" and businesspeople who
are reluctant to take risks (his speech can be viewed on YouTube under
the title "Israel should be an example for us").</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The new phase of post-polarization was ratified at the
polls: the second place in the national election was taken by a
center-rightwing alternative whose leaders tried to convince Bolivians
that they would keep the “good” things done by the MAS, and avoided any
talk about restoring the old order.<sup>5</sup> Another effect of the
new scenario is that two former presidents (Carlos Mesa and Eduardo
Rodríguez Veltzé) have accepted Morales’ proposal to participate in the
sea-access claim against Chile, the former as an international spokesman
for the Bolivian position and the latter as Ambassador in the
Netherlands and coordinator of the lawsuit in the International Court of
The Hague. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The success of the “Evo model” also reaches the very
structure of the MAS, made up by an alliance of different social,
territorial, labor and ethnic sectors, which operates in exactly the
same (corporate) mode of exercising citizenship as most of the Bolivian
society.<sup>6</sup> For many social sectors, the MAS’ electoral lists
–prepared with a mixture of grass-root participation and top-level
decision-making- represent a fairly efficient way of having access to
the State and political "self-representation". This is why, among other
things, those candidates from the intellectual strata (Raúl Prada,
Alejandro Almaraz, etc.) who intended to “redirect the process of
change”, and appealed for that purpose to the “social movements”, didn’t
get good results.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Recently, García Linera described the current period, and
defended the role of the State and a somewhat pragmatic view: “Insofar
as no (community) initiatives are being set forth by the society, we
have to work with what is there, and that is the business leaders, who
must gain strength, grow and generate more wealth. You should remove
that chip which tells you that at any time the government will stage a
coup and nationalize everything. That is not going to happen, that has
failed, and that is not socialism; nationalizing the means of production
led to a sort of spurious, failed socialism. We will not repeat that
mistake. We will not replicate the UDP [Unidad Democrática y Popular] of
1984, we will not replicate the Soviet Union.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">He then referred to the “inclusion of the adversary” in the
project: “If a project remains enclosed in its original nucleus, this
means domination and imposition. To open it so much that other sectors
can take over and prevail will always carry the risk of hegemony, and
this is why it's a battle. When you integrate your opponent into your
universal project, [he] will cease to stay entrenched in his own domain
and will no longer be able to generate counter-power. The risk lies in
you having an opponent so skillful and intelligent that from within your
project he can turn his own into the hegemon of the universal project”.<sup>7</sup> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The next electoral battle is coming up soon: in March 2015,
mayors and governors will be elected. This time, the opposition expects
to get better results, at least in part, considering that local voting
often has a different logic from national elections. In this context,
the mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla (42 years old), will attempt to emerge
as a future leader of the opposition. Using the fact that his
(centre-leftwing) party, the Movement without Fear (<em>Movimiento sin Miedo</em>),
lost its legal capacity to participate in the elections due to the
meager results obtained in October 12th, Revilla founded a new party
called SOL.bo -Sovereignty and Freedom- (<em>Soberanía y Libertad</em>)
and thereby got rid of the by now cumbersome leadership of Juan del
Granado. If he beats the MAS and is reelected, Revilla might be one of
the new presidential candidates by 2019. Of course, there’s still a long
way to go. Evo Morales has to decide whether he will use his party’s
two-thirds of parliamentary representation in order to amend the
constitution so as to allow indefinite reelection. We shall see if the
current economic boom endures given the ups and downs of the prices of
raw materials that have weighed on the exports of a country with
apparently inexhaustible resources for the last four centuries. </span></div>
<hr />
<span style="font-size: small;">References:</span><br />
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">1 Vincent Nicolas and Pablo Quisbert: Pachakuti: El retorno
de la nación. Estudio comparativo del imaginario de nación de la
Revolución Nacional y del Estado Plurinacional, La Paz, Pieb, 2014</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">2 Álvaro García Linera, Nación y Mestizaje, La Paz,
Vicepresidencia del Estado, September 2013. Available at:
http://www.vicepresidencia.gob.bo/IMG/pdf/nación_y_mestizaje.pdf</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">3 William Neuman, “Turnabout in Bolivia as Economy Rises
From Instability, New York Times, 16/2/2014, Tyler Cowen, “Why I
endorsed Evo Morales”, Marginal Revolution, 2/9/2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">4 Fernando Molina, “Elecciones bolivianas, el fin de la polarización”, Infolatam, 27/9/2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">5 See: Fernando Molina, “La oposición boliviana, entre la
‘política de la fe’ y la ‘política del escepticismo”, Nueva Sociedad,
Nº255, November-December, 2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">6 Pablo Stefanoni y Hervé Do Alto: “El MAS: las
ambivalencias de la democracia corporativa”, in Luis Alberto García
Orellana and Fernando Luis García Yapur (ed.), Mutaciones del campo
político en Bolivia, La Paz, PNUD, 2010.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">7 Pablo Ortiz and Mónica Salvatierra, El Deber, 16/11/2014.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> - See
more at:
http://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/content/elections-bolivia-some-keys-evo-morales%E2%80%99s-victory#sthash.p31fOXJz.dpuf <!--
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</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The elections held on October 12th in Bolivia
confirmed the hegemony of the Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al
Socialismo – MAS) and showed that Evo Morales’ leadership remains strong after
his eight years in office, an intrinsically relevant fact in a country known
for its political, economic and social instability. Evo Morales and his running
mate Álvaro García Linera were supported by 61.36% of the votes compared to
24.23% for the Democratic Unity (Unidad Democrática - UD), headed by politician
and businessman Samuel Doria Medina, and to 9.04% for the former President
Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who ran for the Christian Democratic Party (Partido
Demócrata Cristiano). In La Paz, the seat of government, the ruling party won
by a margin of 68.92% to 14.75% for the UD. With these results, the MAS has
managed not only to retain the two thirds of the Congress it has had since
2009, but also, a politically and symbolically significant result, to win in
Santa Cruz -a formerly opposing region located in the agro-industrial East of
the country- with almost 50% of the votes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">In general terms, the election results show a drop in
votes for the MAS in the Andean West –but from exceptionally high previous levels–,
parallel to an increase in the East. For example, in La Paz, the MAS had
obtained 80.28% in 2009, which means it went down more than 10 points. However,
given the extraordinary result of that year, the present decrease did not
prevent the party from “keeping it all” this time, that is, all of the
uninominal representatives and the four senators running in La Paz. The same
happened in regions like Oruro and Potosí. While in 2009 the epics of the fight
against the autonomist regions –accused of promoting separatism and
counter-revolutionary coups– rallied votes that probably exceeded those
supporting Evo Morales in normal circumstances, on October 12th the secure
victory relaxed his party’s fighting efforts, and the political mystique moved
to the formerly opposing regions.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">But ideology is not the only reason for the ruling
party's victory in Santa Cruz (at present, only the department of Beni
maintains an opposing stance, though the MAS obtained over 40% of the votes
cast there), fostered by former Minister of Government Carlos Romero. Here, Evo
Morales' party applied a pragmatic policy allowing entry to the MAS of a small
group of activists from the rightwing Nationalist Democratic Action (Acción
Democrática Nacionalista – ADN, the party founded by General Hugo Bánzer), and
of congresswoman Jessica Echeverría, who had successively belonged to various
rightwing groups –she had even been elected as Tuto Quiroga’s spokeswoman
a few days before– and in 2008 was part of the radical “cruceñismo”. Upon
switching to the ruling party, this evangelic representative apologized for
"having incited hatred" in those times of political polarization.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Nowadays, the situation is significantly different
from that of 2008/2009, when Santa Cruz was at war against La Paz. In a context
of economic growth, and following the defeat of the more radical sectors, the
Government approached the business community with an implicit agreement by
which business people recognize the legitimacy of the president, and he
recognizes the legitimacy of the Santa Cruz model of capitalism. This had the
effect of consolidating, after a first period of polarization and
confrontation, the “negotiated way out” proposed by García Linera when he ran
for the vice-presidency in 2005.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Times;">Change and Decolonization</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">In these eight years of Morales' administration,
several radical notions of the good society have been left aside in the
Democratic and Cultural Revolution, giving rise to some dissents voices that
have failed to result in votes. Radical indigenism, communitarianism, the
diffuse “living well” (<i>suma qamaña</i>), the plurinational views or
decolonization visions associated with the “otherness” of the indigenous world
or with its anti-capitalist potential, have all weakened and given way to the
priority of public management and to more market-friendly ways of decolonizing.
Additionally, the population census of 2012 showed some seemingly paradoxical
data: while in 2001 62% of Bolivians over the age of 15 identified themselves
as indigenous, now only 42% did so (an important fact given that the previous
census had provided statistic and moral support to all the struggles carried on
since the early 2000s).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">There are many factors that may have caused such
identity shift, including a change of terms in the pertaining question, where
“native indigenous” was replaced by “peasant-native-indigenous” as expressed in
the new Constitution, just at a time when Bolivia is a predominantly urban
country. Equally important is the fact that in 2001 the indigenous identity
challenged the established order while nowadays it is official, even when
mixed-raced urban Bolivia doesn't always feel comfortable with such State
indigenism.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Finally, most people in Bolivia are “partly”
indigenous and “partly” mixed-raced, so variability in identities is not
uncommon, especially among the Quechua people, who are the majority. The
Quechuas lack, as pointed out by Pablo Quisbert and Vincent Nicolas in their
recent book <i>Pachakuti: El retorno de la nación</i><sup>1</sup>, such
ethno-national symbols or heroes as the Aymaras have with Tupac Katari or the
rainbow flag called wiphala. What is essentially Quechua is rather a language
that unites various local "nations".</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Evo manifested his surprise at the census results, but
considered them a secondary issue and remarked that anyway, as is the case when
throwing dice, "what you see is what you score.” Vice-President Álvaro
García Linera then wrote a text titled <i>Nación y Mestizaje</i> (Nation and
Miscegenation) defending plurinationality.<sup>2</sup> But Evo, who knows how
to “score” in <i>cacho</i>, a popular game in Bolivia, also knows how to make
adjustments in his campaigns with the instinct of an experienced union leader.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">This context fostered a shift in the MAS towards the
proposal of technological advancement as the main focus of its electoral
campaign: the cable-car transport between La Paz and El Alto, the satellite
named Tupac Katari, the promise of a “city of knowledge” in Cochabamba, and
even the controversial proposal of advancing towards nuclear power, were all
part of the party’s program. It also included re-launching the construction of
the road running across the Indigenous Territory and National Park Isiboro
Sécure, which was suspended in 2012 due to protests against the project.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Times;">Neo-Developmentalist Perspectives</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The 2014 electoral campaign was focused on the
country’s economy, which has grown steadily during the last eight years by
means of a combination of economic nationalism (strengthening of the State) and
fiscal caution –commended by media such as the New York Times and even by
libertarian economists like Tyler Cowen[3]-. It’s worth recalling that when a
leftwing government once ruled in Bolivia (1982-1985), it was forced to leave
office early as a result of a brutal hyperinflation that generated a social
trauma. The memory of that circumstance, coupled with Evo’s peasant
subjectivity expressed in his aversion to debts and a tendency to "keep
the money under the mattress," explains why Bolivia today has 15.000
billion dollars in international reserves, equivalent to 51% of the GDP. The
Minister of Economy, Luis Arce, has made sure since the very first day of Evo’s
administration that the macro variables are kept in order.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The economy is the factor that contributed to operate
what analyst Fernando Molina characterized as the political
"depolarization" in the country.<sup>4</sup> At the same time, this
economic stability –which Evo Morales showcased as the main reason to vote
for the MAS– poses a sort of division in the Bolivarian bloc between
Bolivia and Ecuador, on the one hand, and Venezuela on the other, as well as an
overall weakening of the “XXI Century Socialism" and a strengthening of
neo-developmentalist perspectives. The content of this narrative –taken in a
sense not necessarily coincidental with that of Carlos Bresser Pereira, the
Brazilian who created the concept– was defined very clearly by Ecuador’s
President Rafael Correa, who some time ago highly praised the Israeli model of
innovation, development and business-minded vision, and criticized "conservative
leftwing movements" and businesspeople who are reluctant to take risks
(his speech can be viewed on YouTube under the title "Israel should be an
example for us").</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The new phase of post-polarization was ratified at the
polls: the second place in the national election was taken by a
center-rightwing alternative whose leaders tried to convince Bolivians that
they would keep the “good” things done by the MAS, and avoided any talk about
restoring the old order.<sup>5</sup> Another effect of the new scenario is that
two former presidents (Carlos Mesa and Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé) have accepted
Morales’ proposal to participate in the sea-access claim against Chile, the
former as an international spokesman for the Bolivian position and the latter
as Ambassador in the Netherlands and coordinator of the lawsuit in the
International Court of The Hague. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The success of the “Evo model” also reaches the very
structure of the MAS, made up by an alliance of different social, territorial,
labor and ethnic sectors, which operates in exactly the same (corporate) mode
of exercising citizenship as most of the Bolivian society.<sup>6</sup> For many
social sectors, the MAS’ electoral lists –prepared with a mixture of grass-root
participation and top-level decision-making- represent a fairly efficient way
of having access to the State and political "self-representation".
This is why, among other things, those candidates from the intellectual strata
(Raúl Prada, Alejandro Almaraz, etc.) who intended to “redirect the process of
change”, and appealed for that purpose to the “social movements”, didn’t get
good results.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Recently, García Linera described the current period,
and defended the role of the State and a somewhat pragmatic view: “Insofar as
no (community) initiatives are being set forth by the society, we have to work
with what is there, and that is the business leaders, who must gain strength,
grow and generate more wealth. You should remove that chip which tells you that
at any time the government will stage a coup and nationalize everything. That is
not going to happen, that has failed, and that is not socialism; nationalizing
the means of production led to a sort of spurious, failed socialism. We will
not repeat that mistake. We will not replicate the UDP [Unidad Democrática y
Popular] of 1984, we will not replicate the Soviet Union.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">He then referred to the “inclusion of the adversary”
in the project: “If a project remains enclosed in its original nucleus, this
means domination and imposition. To open it so much that other sectors can take
over and prevail will always carry the risk of hegemony, and this is why it's a
battle. When you integrate your opponent into your universal project, [he] will
cease to stay entrenched in his own domain and will no longer be able to
generate counter-power. The risk lies in you having an opponent so skillful and
intelligent that from within your project he can turn his own into the hegemon
of the universal project”.<sup>7</sup> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">The next electoral battle is coming up soon: in March
2015, mayors and governors will be elected. This time, the opposition expects
to get better results, at least in part, considering that local voting often
has a different logic from national elections. In this context, the mayor of La
Paz, Luis Revilla (42 years old), will attempt to emerge as a future leader of
the opposition. Using the fact that his (centre-leftwing) party, the Movement
without Fear (<i>Movimiento sin Miedo</i>), lost its legal capacity to
participate in the elections due to the meager results obtained in October
12th, Revilla founded a new party called SOL.bo -Sovereignty and Freedom- (<i>Soberanía
y Libertad</i>) and thereby got rid of the by now cumbersome leadership of Juan
del Granado. If he beats the MAS and is reelected, Revilla might be one of the
new presidential candidates by 2019. Of course, there’s still a long way to go.
Evo Morales has to decide whether he will use his party’s two-thirds of
parliamentary representation in order to amend the constitution so as to allow
indefinite reelection. We shall see if the current economic boom endures given
the ups and downs of the prices of raw materials that have weighed on the
exports of a country with apparently inexhaustible resources for the last
four centuries. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Times;">Republished from <a href="http://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/content/elections-bolivia-some-keys-evo-morales%E2%80%99s-victory">Panoramas</a></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">References:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">1 Vincent Nicolas and Pablo Quisbert: Pachakuti: El
retorno de la nación. Estudio comparativo del imaginario de nación de la
Revolución Nacional y del Estado Plurinacional, La Paz, Pieb, 2014</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">2 Álvaro García Linera, Nación y Mestizaje, La Paz,
Vicepresidencia del Estado, September 2013. Available at:
http://www.vicepresidencia.gob.bo/IMG/pdf/nación_y_mestizaje.pdf</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">3 William Neuman, “Turnabout in Bolivia as Economy
Rises From Instability, New York Times, 16/2/2014, Tyler Cowen, “Why I endorsed
Evo Morales”, Marginal Revolution, 2/9/2014.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">4 Fernando Molina, “Elecciones bolivianas, el fin de
la polarización”, Infolatam, 27/9/2014.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">5 See: Fernando Molina, “La oposición boliviana, entre
la ‘política de la fe’ y la ‘política del escepticismo”, Nueva Sociedad, Nº255,
November-December, 2014.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">6 Pablo Stefanoni y Hervé Do Alto: “El MAS: las
ambivalencias de la democracia corporativa”, in Luis Alberto García Orellana
and Fernando Luis García Yapur (ed.), Mutaciones del campo político en Bolivia,
La Paz, PNUD, 2010.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times;">7 Pablo Ortiz and Mónica Salvatierra, El Deber,
16/11/2014.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
elections held on October 12th in Bolivia confirmed the hegemony of the
Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo – MAS) and showed
that Evo Morales’ leadership remains strong after his eight years in
office, an intrinsically relevant fact in a country known for its
political, economic and social instability. Evo Morales and his running
mate Álvaro García Linera were supported by 61.36% of the votes compared
to 24.23% for the Democratic Unity (Unidad Democrática - UD), headed by
politician and businessman Samuel Doria Medina, and to 9.04% for the
former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who ran for the Christian
Democratic Party (Partido Demócrata Cristiano). In La Paz, the seat of
government, the ruling party won by a margin of 68.92% to 14.75% for the
UD. With these results, the MAS has managed not only to retain the two
thirds of the Congress it has had since 2009, but also, a politically
and symbolically significant result, to win in Santa Cruz -a formerly
opposing region located in the agro-industrial East of the country- with
almost 50% of the votes.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">In general terms, the election results show a drop in votes
for the MAS in the Andean West –but from exceptionally high previous
levels–, parallel to an increase in the East. For example, in La Paz,
the MAS had obtained 80.28% in 2009, which means it went down more than
10 points. However, given the extraordinary result of that year, the
present decrease did not prevent the party from “keeping it all” this
time, that is, all of the uninominal representatives and the four
senators running in La Paz. The same happened in regions like Oruro and
Potosí. While in 2009 the epics of the fight against the autonomist
regions –accused of promoting separatism and counter-revolutionary
coups– rallied votes that probably exceeded those supporting Evo Morales
in normal circumstances, on October 12th the secure victory relaxed his
party’s fighting efforts, and the political mystique moved to the
formerly opposing regions.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">But ideology is not the only reason for the ruling party's
victory in Santa Cruz (at present, only the department of Beni maintains
an opposing stance, though the MAS obtained over 40% of the votes cast
there), fostered by former Minister of Government Carlos Romero. Here,
Evo Morales' party applied a pragmatic policy allowing entry to the MAS
of a small group of activists from the rightwing Nationalist Democratic
Action (Acción Democrática Nacionalista – ADN, the party founded by
General Hugo Bánzer), and of congresswoman Jessica Echeverría, who had
successively belonged to various rightwing groups –she had even been
elected as Tuto Quiroga’s spokeswoman a few days before– and in 2008 was
part of the radical “cruceñismo”. Upon switching to the ruling party,
this evangelic representative apologized for "having incited hatred" in
those times of political polarization.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Nowadays, the situation is significantly different from
that of 2008/2009, when Santa Cruz was at war against La Paz. In a
context of economic growth, and following the defeat of the more radical
sectors, the Government approached the business community with an
implicit agreement by which business people recognize the legitimacy of
the president, and he recognizes the legitimacy of the Santa Cruz model
of capitalism. This had the effect of consolidating, after a first
period of polarization and confrontation, the “negotiated way out”
proposed by García Linera when he ran for the vice-presidency in 2005.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Change and Decolonization</strong></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">In these eight years of Morales' administration, several
radical notions of the good society have been left aside in the
Democratic and Cultural Revolution, giving rise to some dissents voices
that have failed to result in votes. Radical indigenism,
communitarianism, the diffuse “living well” (<em>suma qamaña</em>), the
plurinational views or decolonization visions associated with the
“otherness” of the indigenous world or with its anti-capitalist
potential, have all weakened and given way to the priority of public
management and to more market-friendly ways of decolonizing.
Additionally, the population census of 2012 showed some seemingly
paradoxical data: while in 2001 62% of Bolivians over the age of 15
identified themselves as indigenous, now only 42% did so (an important
fact given that the previous census had provided statistic and moral
support to all the struggles carried on since the early 2000s).</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are many factors that may have caused such identity
shift, including a change of terms in the pertaining question, where
“native indigenous” was replaced by “peasant-native-indigenous” as
expressed in the new Constitution, just at a time when Bolivia is a
predominantly urban country. Equally important is the fact that in 2001
the indigenous identity challenged the established order while nowadays
it is official, even when mixed-raced urban Bolivia doesn't always feel
comfortable with such State indigenism.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Finally, most people in Bolivia are “partly” indigenous and
“partly” mixed-raced, so variability in identities is not uncommon,
especially among the Quechua people, who are the majority. The Quechuas
lack, as pointed out by Pablo Quisbert and Vincent Nicolas in their
recent book <em>Pachakuti: El retorno de la nación</em><sup>1</sup>,
such ethno-national symbols or heroes as the Aymaras have with Tupac
Katari or the rainbow flag called wiphala. What is essentially Quechua
is rather a language that unites various local "nations".</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Evo manifested his surprise at the census results, but
considered them a secondary issue and remarked that anyway, as is the
case when throwing dice, "what you see is what you score.”
Vice-President Álvaro García Linera then wrote a text titled <em>Nación y Mestizaje</em> (Nation and Miscegenation) defending plurinationality.<sup>2</sup> But Evo, who knows how to “score” in <em>cacho</em>,
a popular game in Bolivia, also knows how to make adjustments in his
campaigns with the instinct of an experienced union leader.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">This context fostered a shift in the MAS towards the
proposal of technological advancement as the main focus of its electoral
campaign: the cable-car transport between La Paz and El Alto, the
satellite named Tupac Katari, the promise of a “city of knowledge” in
Cochabamba, and even the controversial proposal of advancing towards
nuclear power, were all part of the party’s program. It also included
re-launching the construction of the road running across the Indigenous
Territory and National Park Isiboro Sécure, which was suspended in 2012
due to protests against the project.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Neo-Developmentalist Perspectives</strong></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The 2014 electoral campaign was focused on the country’s
economy, which has grown steadily during the last eight years by means
of a combination of economic nationalism (strengthening of the State)
and fiscal caution –commended by media such as the New York Times and
even by libertarian economists like Tyler Cowen[3]-. It’s worth
recalling that when a leftwing government once ruled in Bolivia
(1982-1985), it was forced to leave office early as a result of a brutal
hyperinflation that generated a social trauma. The memory of that
circumstance, coupled with Evo’s peasant subjectivity expressed in his
aversion to debts and a tendency to "keep the money under the mattress,"
explains why Bolivia today has 15.000 billion dollars in international
reserves, equivalent to 51% of the GDP. The Minister of Economy, Luis
Arce, has made sure since the very first day of Evo’s administration
that the macro variables are kept in order.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The economy is the factor that contributed to operate what
analyst Fernando Molina characterized as the political "depolarization"
in the country.<sup>4</sup> At the same time, this economic
stability –which Evo Morales showcased as the main reason to vote for
the MAS– poses a sort of division in the Bolivarian bloc between Bolivia
and Ecuador, on the one hand, and Venezuela on the other, as well as an
overall weakening of the “XXI Century Socialism" and a strengthening of
neo-developmentalist perspectives. The content of this narrative –taken
in a sense not necessarily coincidental with that of Carlos Bresser
Pereira, the Brazilian who created the concept– was defined very clearly
by Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, who some time ago highly praised
the Israeli model of innovation, development and business-minded vision,
and criticized "conservative leftwing movements" and businesspeople who
are reluctant to take risks (his speech can be viewed on YouTube under
the title "Israel should be an example for us").</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The new phase of post-polarization was ratified at the
polls: the second place in the national election was taken by a
center-rightwing alternative whose leaders tried to convince Bolivians
that they would keep the “good” things done by the MAS, and avoided any
talk about restoring the old order.<sup>5</sup> Another effect of the
new scenario is that two former presidents (Carlos Mesa and Eduardo
Rodríguez Veltzé) have accepted Morales’ proposal to participate in the
sea-access claim against Chile, the former as an international spokesman
for the Bolivian position and the latter as Ambassador in the
Netherlands and coordinator of the lawsuit in the International Court of
The Hague. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The success of the “Evo model” also reaches the very
structure of the MAS, made up by an alliance of different social,
territorial, labor and ethnic sectors, which operates in exactly the
same (corporate) mode of exercising citizenship as most of the Bolivian
society.<sup>6</sup> For many social sectors, the MAS’ electoral lists
–prepared with a mixture of grass-root participation and top-level
decision-making- represent a fairly efficient way of having access to
the State and political "self-representation". This is why, among other
things, those candidates from the intellectual strata (Raúl Prada,
Alejandro Almaraz, etc.) who intended to “redirect the process of
change”, and appealed for that purpose to the “social movements”, didn’t
get good results.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Recently, García Linera described the current period, and
defended the role of the State and a somewhat pragmatic view: “Insofar
as no (community) initiatives are being set forth by the society, we
have to work with what is there, and that is the business leaders, who
must gain strength, grow and generate more wealth. You should remove
that chip which tells you that at any time the government will stage a
coup and nationalize everything. That is not going to happen, that has
failed, and that is not socialism; nationalizing the means of production
led to a sort of spurious, failed socialism. We will not repeat that
mistake. We will not replicate the UDP [Unidad Democrática y Popular] of
1984, we will not replicate the Soviet Union.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">He then referred to the “inclusion of the adversary” in the
project: “If a project remains enclosed in its original nucleus, this
means domination and imposition. To open it so much that other sectors
can take over and prevail will always carry the risk of hegemony, and
this is why it's a battle. When you integrate your opponent into your
universal project, [he] will cease to stay entrenched in his own domain
and will no longer be able to generate counter-power. The risk lies in
you having an opponent so skillful and intelligent that from within your
project he can turn his own into the hegemon of the universal project”.<sup>7</sup> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The next electoral battle is coming up soon: in March 2015,
mayors and governors will be elected. This time, the opposition expects
to get better results, at least in part, considering that local voting
often has a different logic from national elections. In this context,
the mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla (42 years old), will attempt to emerge
as a future leader of the opposition. Using the fact that his
(centre-leftwing) party, the Movement without Fear (<em>Movimiento sin Miedo</em>),
lost its legal capacity to participate in the elections due to the
meager results obtained in October 12th, Revilla founded a new party
called SOL.bo -Sovereignty and Freedom- (<em>Soberanía y Libertad</em>)
and thereby got rid of the by now cumbersome leadership of Juan del
Granado. If he beats the MAS and is reelected, Revilla might be one of
the new presidential candidates by 2019. Of course, there’s still a long
way to go. Evo Morales has to decide whether he will use his party’s
two-thirds of parliamentary representation in order to amend the
constitution so as to allow indefinite reelection. We shall see if the
current economic boom endures given the ups and downs of the prices of
raw materials that have weighed on the exports of a country with
apparently inexhaustible resources for the last four centuries. </span></div>
<hr />
<span style="font-size: small;">References:</span><br />
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">1 Vincent Nicolas and Pablo Quisbert: Pachakuti: El retorno
de la nación. Estudio comparativo del imaginario de nación de la
Revolución Nacional y del Estado Plurinacional, La Paz, Pieb, 2014</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">2 Álvaro García Linera, Nación y Mestizaje, La Paz,
Vicepresidencia del Estado, September 2013. Available at:
http://www.vicepresidencia.gob.bo/IMG/pdf/nación_y_mestizaje.pdf</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">3 William Neuman, “Turnabout in Bolivia as Economy Rises
From Instability, New York Times, 16/2/2014, Tyler Cowen, “Why I
endorsed Evo Morales”, Marginal Revolution, 2/9/2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">4 Fernando Molina, “Elecciones bolivianas, el fin de la polarización”, Infolatam, 27/9/2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">5 See: Fernando Molina, “La oposición boliviana, entre la
‘política de la fe’ y la ‘política del escepticismo”, Nueva Sociedad,
Nº255, November-December, 2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">6 Pablo Stefanoni y Hervé Do Alto: “El MAS: las
ambivalencias de la democracia corporativa”, in Luis Alberto García
Orellana and Fernando Luis García Yapur (ed.), Mutaciones del campo
político en Bolivia, La Paz, PNUD, 2010.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">7 Pablo Ortiz and Mónica Salvatierra, El Deber, 16/11/2014.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> - See
more at:
http://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/content/elections-bolivia-some-keys-evo-morales%E2%80%99s-victory#sthash.p31fOXJz.dpuf</span></div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The
elections held on October 12th in Bolivia confirmed the hegemony of the
Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo – MAS) and showed
that Evo Morales’ leadership remains strong after his eight years in
office, an intrinsically relevant fact in a country known for its
political, economic and social instability. Evo Morales and his running
mate Álvaro García Linera were supported by 61.36% of the votes compared
to 24.23% for the Democratic Unity (Unidad Democrática - UD), headed by
politician and businessman Samuel Doria Medina, and to 9.04% for the
former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who ran for the Christian
Democratic Party (Partido Demócrata Cristiano). In La Paz, the seat of
government, the ruling party won by a margin of 68.92% to 14.75% for the
UD. With these results, the MAS has managed not only to retain the two
thirds of the Congress it has had since 2009, but also, a politically
and symbolically significant result, to win in Santa Cruz -a formerly
opposing region located in the agro-industrial East of the country- with
almost 50% of the votes.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">In general terms, the election results show a drop in votes
for the MAS in the Andean West –but from exceptionally high previous
levels–, parallel to an increase in the East. For example, in La Paz,
the MAS had obtained 80.28% in 2009, which means it went down more than
10 points. However, given the extraordinary result of that year, the
present decrease did not prevent the party from “keeping it all” this
time, that is, all of the uninominal representatives and the four
senators running in La Paz. The same happened in regions like Oruro and
Potosí. While in 2009 the epics of the fight against the autonomist
regions –accused of promoting separatism and counter-revolutionary
coups– rallied votes that probably exceeded those supporting Evo Morales
in normal circumstances, on October 12th the secure victory relaxed his
party’s fighting efforts, and the political mystique moved to the
formerly opposing regions.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">But ideology is not the only reason for the ruling party's
victory in Santa Cruz (at present, only the department of Beni maintains
an opposing stance, though the MAS obtained over 40% of the votes cast
there), fostered by former Minister of Government Carlos Romero. Here,
Evo Morales' party applied a pragmatic policy allowing entry to the MAS
of a small group of activists from the rightwing Nationalist Democratic
Action (Acción Democrática Nacionalista – ADN, the party founded by
General Hugo Bánzer), and of congresswoman Jessica Echeverría, who had
successively belonged to various rightwing groups –she had even been
elected as Tuto Quiroga’s spokeswoman a few days before– and in 2008 was
part of the radical “cruceñismo”. Upon switching to the ruling party,
this evangelic representative apologized for "having incited hatred" in
those times of political polarization.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Nowadays, the situation is significantly different from
that of 2008/2009, when Santa Cruz was at war against La Paz. In a
context of economic growth, and following the defeat of the more radical
sectors, the Government approached the business community with an
implicit agreement by which business people recognize the legitimacy of
the president, and he recognizes the legitimacy of the Santa Cruz model
of capitalism. This had the effect of consolidating, after a first
period of polarization and confrontation, the “negotiated way out”
proposed by García Linera when he ran for the vice-presidency in 2005.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Change and Decolonization</strong></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">In these eight years of Morales' administration, several
radical notions of the good society have been left aside in the
Democratic and Cultural Revolution, giving rise to some dissents voices
that have failed to result in votes. Radical indigenism,
communitarianism, the diffuse “living well” (<em>suma qamaña</em>), the
plurinational views or decolonization visions associated with the
“otherness” of the indigenous world or with its anti-capitalist
potential, have all weakened and given way to the priority of public
management and to more market-friendly ways of decolonizing.
Additionally, the population census of 2012 showed some seemingly
paradoxical data: while in 2001 62% of Bolivians over the age of 15
identified themselves as indigenous, now only 42% did so (an important
fact given that the previous census had provided statistic and moral
support to all the struggles carried on since the early 2000s).</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are many factors that may have caused such identity
shift, including a change of terms in the pertaining question, where
“native indigenous” was replaced by “peasant-native-indigenous” as
expressed in the new Constitution, just at a time when Bolivia is a
predominantly urban country. Equally important is the fact that in 2001
the indigenous identity challenged the established order while nowadays
it is official, even when mixed-raced urban Bolivia doesn't always feel
comfortable with such State indigenism.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Finally, most people in Bolivia are “partly” indigenous and
“partly” mixed-raced, so variability in identities is not uncommon,
especially among the Quechua people, who are the majority. The Quechuas
lack, as pointed out by Pablo Quisbert and Vincent Nicolas in their
recent book <em>Pachakuti: El retorno de la nación</em><sup>1</sup>,
such ethno-national symbols or heroes as the Aymaras have with Tupac
Katari or the rainbow flag called wiphala. What is essentially Quechua
is rather a language that unites various local "nations".</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Evo manifested his surprise at the census results, but
considered them a secondary issue and remarked that anyway, as is the
case when throwing dice, "what you see is what you score.”
Vice-President Álvaro García Linera then wrote a text titled <em>Nación y Mestizaje</em> (Nation and Miscegenation) defending plurinationality.<sup>2</sup> But Evo, who knows how to “score” in <em>cacho</em>,
a popular game in Bolivia, also knows how to make adjustments in his
campaigns with the instinct of an experienced union leader.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">This context fostered a shift in the MAS towards the
proposal of technological advancement as the main focus of its electoral
campaign: the cable-car transport between La Paz and El Alto, the
satellite named Tupac Katari, the promise of a “city of knowledge” in
Cochabamba, and even the controversial proposal of advancing towards
nuclear power, were all part of the party’s program. It also included
re-launching the construction of the road running across the Indigenous
Territory and National Park Isiboro Sécure, which was suspended in 2012
due to protests against the project.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Neo-Developmentalist Perspectives</strong></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The 2014 electoral campaign was focused on the country’s
economy, which has grown steadily during the last eight years by means
of a combination of economic nationalism (strengthening of the State)
and fiscal caution –commended by media such as the New York Times and
even by libertarian economists like Tyler Cowen[3]-. It’s worth
recalling that when a leftwing government once ruled in Bolivia
(1982-1985), it was forced to leave office early as a result of a brutal
hyperinflation that generated a social trauma. The memory of that
circumstance, coupled with Evo’s peasant subjectivity expressed in his
aversion to debts and a tendency to "keep the money under the mattress,"
explains why Bolivia today has 15.000 billion dollars in international
reserves, equivalent to 51% of the GDP. The Minister of Economy, Luis
Arce, has made sure since the very first day of Evo’s administration
that the macro variables are kept in order.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The economy is the factor that contributed to operate what
analyst Fernando Molina characterized as the political "depolarization"
in the country.<sup>4</sup> At the same time, this economic
stability –which Evo Morales showcased as the main reason to vote for
the MAS– poses a sort of division in the Bolivarian bloc between Bolivia
and Ecuador, on the one hand, and Venezuela on the other, as well as an
overall weakening of the “XXI Century Socialism" and a strengthening of
neo-developmentalist perspectives. The content of this narrative –taken
in a sense not necessarily coincidental with that of Carlos Bresser
Pereira, the Brazilian who created the concept– was defined very clearly
by Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, who some time ago highly praised
the Israeli model of innovation, development and business-minded vision,
and criticized "conservative leftwing movements" and businesspeople who
are reluctant to take risks (his speech can be viewed on YouTube under
the title "Israel should be an example for us").</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The new phase of post-polarization was ratified at the
polls: the second place in the national election was taken by a
center-rightwing alternative whose leaders tried to convince Bolivians
that they would keep the “good” things done by the MAS, and avoided any
talk about restoring the old order.<sup>5</sup> Another effect of the
new scenario is that two former presidents (Carlos Mesa and Eduardo
Rodríguez Veltzé) have accepted Morales’ proposal to participate in the
sea-access claim against Chile, the former as an international spokesman
for the Bolivian position and the latter as Ambassador in the
Netherlands and coordinator of the lawsuit in the International Court of
The Hague. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The success of the “Evo model” also reaches the very
structure of the MAS, made up by an alliance of different social,
territorial, labor and ethnic sectors, which operates in exactly the
same (corporate) mode of exercising citizenship as most of the Bolivian
society.<sup>6</sup> For many social sectors, the MAS’ electoral lists
–prepared with a mixture of grass-root participation and top-level
decision-making- represent a fairly efficient way of having access to
the State and political "self-representation". This is why, among other
things, those candidates from the intellectual strata (Raúl Prada,
Alejandro Almaraz, etc.) who intended to “redirect the process of
change”, and appealed for that purpose to the “social movements”, didn’t
get good results.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">Recently, García Linera described the current period, and
defended the role of the State and a somewhat pragmatic view: “Insofar
as no (community) initiatives are being set forth by the society, we
have to work with what is there, and that is the business leaders, who
must gain strength, grow and generate more wealth. You should remove
that chip which tells you that at any time the government will stage a
coup and nationalize everything. That is not going to happen, that has
failed, and that is not socialism; nationalizing the means of production
led to a sort of spurious, failed socialism. We will not repeat that
mistake. We will not replicate the UDP [Unidad Democrática y Popular] of
1984, we will not replicate the Soviet Union.”</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">He then referred to the “inclusion of the adversary” in the
project: “If a project remains enclosed in its original nucleus, this
means domination and imposition. To open it so much that other sectors
can take over and prevail will always carry the risk of hegemony, and
this is why it's a battle. When you integrate your opponent into your
universal project, [he] will cease to stay entrenched in his own domain
and will no longer be able to generate counter-power. The risk lies in
you having an opponent so skillful and intelligent that from within your
project he can turn his own into the hegemon of the universal project”.<sup>7</sup> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">The next electoral battle is coming up soon: in March 2015,
mayors and governors will be elected. This time, the opposition expects
to get better results, at least in part, considering that local voting
often has a different logic from national elections. In this context,
the mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla (42 years old), will attempt to emerge
as a future leader of the opposition. Using the fact that his
(centre-leftwing) party, the Movement without Fear (<em>Movimiento sin Miedo</em>),
lost its legal capacity to participate in the elections due to the
meager results obtained in October 12th, Revilla founded a new party
called SOL.bo -Sovereignty and Freedom- (<em>Soberanía y Libertad</em>)
and thereby got rid of the by now cumbersome leadership of Juan del
Granado. If he beats the MAS and is reelected, Revilla might be one of
the new presidential candidates by 2019. Of course, there’s still a long
way to go. Evo Morales has to decide whether he will use his party’s
two-thirds of parliamentary representation in order to amend the
constitution so as to allow indefinite reelection. We shall see if the
current economic boom endures given the ups and downs of the prices of
raw materials that have weighed on the exports of a country with
apparently inexhaustible resources for the last four centuries. </span></div>
<hr />
<span style="font-size: small;">References:</span><br />
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">1 Vincent Nicolas and Pablo Quisbert: Pachakuti: El retorno
de la nación. Estudio comparativo del imaginario de nación de la
Revolución Nacional y del Estado Plurinacional, La Paz, Pieb, 2014</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">2 Álvaro García Linera, Nación y Mestizaje, La Paz,
Vicepresidencia del Estado, September 2013. Available at:
http://www.vicepresidencia.gob.bo/IMG/pdf/nación_y_mestizaje.pdf</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">3 William Neuman, “Turnabout in Bolivia as Economy Rises
From Instability, New York Times, 16/2/2014, Tyler Cowen, “Why I
endorsed Evo Morales”, Marginal Revolution, 2/9/2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">4 Fernando Molina, “Elecciones bolivianas, el fin de la polarización”, Infolatam, 27/9/2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">5 See: Fernando Molina, “La oposición boliviana, entre la
‘política de la fe’ y la ‘política del escepticismo”, Nueva Sociedad,
Nº255, November-December, 2014.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: small;">6 Pablo Stefanoni y Hervé Do Alto: “El MAS: las
ambivalencias de la democracia corporativa”, in Luis Alberto García
Orellana and Fernando Luis García Yapur (ed.), Mutaciones del campo
político en Bolivia, La Paz, PNUD, 2010.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">7 Pablo Ortiz and Mónica Salvatierra, El Deber, 16/11/2014.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> - See
more at:
http://www.panoramas.pitt.edu/content/elections-bolivia-some-keys-evo-morales%E2%80%99s-victory#sthash.p31fOXJz.dpuf</span></div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32492462.post-85443767697157277482014-12-16T15:24:00.002+11:002014-12-16T15:24:43.044+11:00Bolivia to host 2015 meeting of social movements to fight climate change <div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-outline-level: 3;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 22.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><o:p></o:p></span></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">In wake of UN’s COP20 failure, ALBA summit backs
proposal to draft alternative plan</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Richard Fidler, Life on the Left<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Meeting in Havana
December 14, the 13<sup>th</sup> summit of ALBA leaders endorsed a Bolivian
proposal to host an international assembly of social movements in 2015 to
discuss and adopt a united strategy for fighting climate change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The decision by the
Bolivarian Alliance for the peoples of Our America – Trade Treaty of the
Peoples (ALBA-TCP) coincided with release of the <a href="http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/lima_dec_2014/in-session/application/pdf/cpl14.pdf"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">final agreement</span></a>
adopted by the United Nations COP20 climate talks at Lima, Peru. The UN
agreement, reached by representatives of 195 countries after two extra days of
haggling, has been universally condemned by environmental activists for the
failure, once again, to take meaningful actions to prevent catastrophic climate
warming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The “Lima Call for
Climate Action” fails to commit governments to firm plans on how they will
reduce emissions and provides no mechanism for international assessment and
enforcement of such plans. Activists warn that its proposed individual state
pledges, called “Intended National Determined Contributions” (INDCs), will be
too weak to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times – a
guarantee of increasingly severe heatwaves, rainfall, flooding and rising sea
levels. Major provisions of the agreement are summarized <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/15/lima-climate-deal-what-was-agreed-and-what-wasnt"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">here</span></a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The COP20 outcome
is “unacceptable for the people and Mother Earth and represents a roadmap to
global burning,” said Pablo Solón, former Bolivian ambassador and now director
of Focus on the Global South. For other reactions, see “<a href="http://climateandcapitalism.com/2014/12/14/lima-agreement-fails-humanity-earth/"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Lima agreement
fails humanity and the earth</span></a>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Addressing the ALBA
Summit in Havana, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales proposed that “faced with the
failure in Lima” the environment ministers of the ALBA member countries</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref1_9210"><span style="color: #cc6611; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">[1]</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1_9210;"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"> should work to organize a “world
encounter of social movements” that would develop “a proposal to save life and
humanity.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The Bolivian
proposal was adopted in number 29 of the 43 points in the <a href="http://albatcp.cubaminrex.cu/sites/default/files/deng.pdf"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">final Summit
agreement</span></a>. The date of the proposed world encounter has yet to be
determined. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Bolivia played a
prominent role in the UN’s Lima conference. In a major speech to the COP20
delegates — excerpts translated below — Morales, the country’s first indigenous
president, urged adoption of a new international climate agreement that would
reflect basic principles upheld by South America’s indigenous peoples. He
showed how adherence to each of these ethical standards entailed a rejection of
“predatory and insatiable capitalism” with its dynamic of “accumulating and
concentrating wealth in the hands of a few… generators of poverty and
marginalization.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">“Either we change
global capitalist society” said Morales, “or it will annihilate the world’s
peoples and nature itself.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">And he denounced
the “more than 30 years of pretence, futile negotiations with no result” of the
UN climate negotiations. Participation by the developing countries, he said,
seemed only to legitimate what had become “a simulacrum of dialogue,” a
“staging of environmentalism” characterized by “a great deal of hypocrisy,
racism and neocolonialism.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">In the climate
talks at Lima, Bolivia’s delegation argued for what it termed an alternative to
the carbon-market UN program known as REDD+ — “Reduction of Emissions for
Deforestation and Degradation of Forests” — which essentially allows polluters
to continue polluting if they buy “carbon credits” from developing countries.
What this program entails is explained in this <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2014/12/9/pablo_solon_on_cop20_and_carbon"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Democracy Now
interview</span></a> with Pablo Solón at the summit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Prior to the
summit, a strong “<a href="http://wrm.org.uy/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Call-COP-Lima_NoREDD.pdf"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">call to action</span></a>
to reject REDD+ and Extractive Industries, to confront capitalism and defend
life and territories” was issued by a large number of Latin American and other
environmental organizations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Bolivia’s <a href="http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2014/sbsta/eng/crp01.pdf"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">proposal</span></a>
of a “joint mitigation and adaptation [JMA] approach for the integral and
sustainable management of forests” would create an international program of
“ex-ante financing, technological support and capacity building” to promote
“integral and sustainable managements of forests, ecosystems and environmental
functions taking into account the holistic views of indigenous peoples, local
communities and local resource users about environment and Mother Earth, and
the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">However, the JMA
was proposed not as a substitute for the REDD program, but as a voluntary
alternative to it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Bolivia also <a href="http://www.la-razon.com/sociedad/Entrevista-Rene_Orellana-sugerimos-equitativamente-obligaciones-mitigacion_0_2174182595.html"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">proposed</span></a>,
apparently without success, an alternative method of measuring carbon
footprints that would reflect the differentiated responsibility of developed
and developing countries for climate change; support for communal projects to
strength food security and biodiversity; and the integration of measurable
indicators of poverty, sustainable development and ecosystem management into
global climate accords. These proposals, while popular in the workshops, were
ignored in the final agreement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Simultaneous with
the COP20 summit was a People’s Summit on Climate Change that drew the
participation of thousands of environmental activists from around the world. A
mass “March of the Peoples” was held on December 10. It reportedly stretched
some three kilometers in length through the streets of Lima. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The People’s summit
issued a <a href="http://alainet.org/active/79433"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">strong statement</span></a> December
11 with a clear anti-capitalist content. Unfortunately, I have been unable so
far to locate an official English translation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Here are major
excerpts from the <a href="http://www.cambio.bo/sites/default/files/suplemetos/pdf/Discurso%20Presidencial%2010-12-14.pdf"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">address of Evo
Morales at the COP20 summit</span></a>. He spoke not only as Bolivia’s
president but also in the name of the G77+China bloc, which was chaired by
Bolivia in 2014. My translation from the Spanish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">* * * <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Environmental
Destruction is a Result of the Capitalist System</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Climate change is
one of the most serious global challenges of our time. And we note that the
developing countries continue to be the countries that most suffer the adverse
effects of climate change and the growing frequency and intensity of extreme
natural disasters, although they are historically the countries that are least
responsible for climate change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Climate change
threatens not only the development perspectives of the developing countries and
their attainment of sustainable development but also the very existence and
survival of the countries, societies and ecosystems of Mother Earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">We declare that the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the essential
international and intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response
to climate change. That response must fully respect the principles, provisions
and final objective of the Convention, in particular the principles of
equality, equity and common but differentiated responsibilities…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">And we highlight
the creation of the new UN climate change provisions on adaptation, financing
and technology, proposals from the G77+China with an holistic vision of climate
change that includes mitigation and adaptation in compliance with the law and
the development of the peoples…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Sisters and
brothers, I request your patience and tolerance now while I express the
profound vision and position of the Plurinational State of Bolivia regarding
the ethics and politics concerning climate change…. We can achieve a climate
agreement based on the protection of life and Mother Earth, and not on the
market, profit and capitalism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">In what is today
the territory of Peru there was many years ago a great civilization that
extended throughout the continent, a great indigenous civilization with much
learning, and which has left us with a great legacy. Today, with COP20 being
conducted in Lima, I ask that we orient our decisions by taking into account
the learning of our indigenous peoples of Abya Yala…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Let us create a
climate agreement using the philosophy and values of those peoples, a new
climate agreement based on an anticolonialist vision. We indigenous peoples of
the world meet and discuss things until we reach a consensus; we can spend days
and nights dialoguing and discussing, but our goal is to reach an agreement
among all of us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">We don’t
manipulate, we don’t cheat and we don’t confuse things. To reach agreement we
give ourselves the necessary time to talk and to listen. Everything is
transparent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">And our indigenous
grandparents have taught us that a just society has to be based on three
principles: “Ama Sua,” “Ama Llulla,” Ama Quella” — do not steal, do not lie,
and do not be lazy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">I ask that using
those principles and values of our ancestors we develop a new climate agreement
beginning with “Ama Sua”: We are not robbers; we must not steal what belongs to
others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Recently the intergovernmental
UN panel of climate change experts in its latest report concluded that if we do
not want an increase in temperature by more than 2 degrees centigrade we cannot
emit more than one thousand gigatons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere
by the year 2050. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">And if we don’t
want the temperature to increase by more than 1.5 degrees centigrade, that
quantity must be much less, approximately 630 gigatons of carbon dioxide. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The atmospheric
space that exists in the planet must be shared with all, respecting the
principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">But there are some
greedy countries that want to consume by themselves what remains of the
atmospheric space. Those countries have been stealing from us since colonial
times and they want to continue stealing. They are stealing our future, the
future of our children and grandchildren, and they are robbing us of the
possibility that we can develop in a sustainable way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">And if a developing
country, with the obligation to feed and provide a more dignified life to its
people, emits greenhouse gases, they begin to point accusing fingers at us.
Yes, they want to sanction and punish those who take a little to eat and feed
their people, but not to punish themselves, they who have stolen huge amounts
in order to grow rich and feather their own nests. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">There is a very
large group of countries that have historically abused the atmosphere and who
are committing ecocide on Mother Earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">But we also have to
say, in all honesty, that there are countries that are pursuing the same
commercialist and consumerist road, with patterns of consumption and production
based on predatory and insatiable capitalism, accumulating and concentrating
wealth in the hands of a few, with a fondness for opulence — generators of
poverty and marginalization…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Sisters and
brothers, we cannot have a climate agreement that condemns Mother Earth and
humanity to death in order to favor Capital, the enrichment of a few and
predatory consumerist growth. We are here to develop a climate agreement for
life, and not for business and capitalist commercialism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Secondly, “we are
not liars,” Ama Llulla. We cannot continue negotiating a new climate agreement
in which countries lie to each other, in which they say they are going to do
something about climate change but in reality they do not want to do anything,
in which they say one thing but in reality they are thinking of doing something
else, or in which they do not say what they are thinking and what they are
doing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Agreements that do
not ensure the environmental integrity of Mother Earth, the integrity of our
marvellous human community, are not ethical. Agreements that think only of
business and do not promote life are lying. We cannot let the powerful with
interests in Capital and not in life impose on us a new climate agreement that
condemns humanity and Mother Earth to death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The third
principle, “we are not lazy,” Ama Quella. The developed countries do not want
to increase their emissions reduction goals, and still less do they want to
implement their commitments under the framework Convention in terms of
adaptation, provision of financing and technology, and development of
capacities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Even worse, there
are some countries that are promoting a new climate agreement in which all
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are voluntary, that is, that each
makes undertakings that are most convenient to them, disowning their historic
responsibility as developed countries and condemning humanity to increases in
temperature by more than 3 or even 4 degrees centigrade in the next 30 years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">If the developed
countries had fulfilled their emissions reduction undertakings and taken the
actions anticipated in the Convention, you can be sure that we would not be
hearing at this stage the “apocalyptic” forecasts about climate change. But
there are countries that are unwilling to face up to the obligation to carry
out domestic reductions in their countries that compromise their economic
development, and that are unwilling to support the developing countries and
deal with climate change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">There are countries
that instead of fulfilling their obligations under the convention do whatever
they can to ensure that it is the others that do what they had to do or will
have to do in the future. And that is why I ask them to comply with the rules
of the indigenous countries: Ama Sua, Ama Llulla, Ama Quella. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">We do not steal
atmospheric space and the right to development that corresponds to other
countries, particularly the poor countries. We do not lie, and we do not cheat;
we fulfill the agreements to which we have subscribed. We are not lazy and we
make agreements with ambitious promises that require us to ensure the integrity
of our Mother Earth, and that incorporate all the elements of mitigation, adaptation,
financing, technology and capital development. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Sisters and
brothers of COP20, we sometimes debate in this class of conferences only the
effects, and not the origin, of global warming. We have had more than 30 years
of pretence, futile negotiations with no result…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Today we find
ourselves on the threshold of the destruction of Mother Earth, faced with the
disappearance of the human species. The developed countries of the North,
responsible for the destruction of nature, have brought us to a barren land to
legitimize their supposed commitment to humanity. We, the developing countries,
have served as a source of legitimation for a unilateral and sterile dialogue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">We have served as a
pretext for the powerful to continue doing the same thing, which has settled
into a simulacrum of dialogue and deliberation. There is in this entire staging
of environmentalism a great deal of hypocrisy, racism and neocolonialism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Climate change has
become once again the safety valve to avoid discussing substantive questions
like the voracious model of capitalist development that is putting an end to
humanity…. We are losing time because the dialogue is not between equals; it is
an unsuccessful monologue…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">We must now say to
you, nothing has changed in those 30 years…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">On behalf of my
people, I can only say that we feel betrayed once again faced with this
simulacrum of international agreements that are never enough. Our peoples are
tired of all this deception, they are tired of suffering the increase in
temperature, the melting of our mountain snow caps, of the heavy rains, the
cruel flooding and the heartbreaking droughts, which each time make us poorer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">We have to get at
the fundamental roots of the problem of climate change. We don’t want more
protocols; we want more structural solutions, overcoming capitalism, saving the
peoples of the world…. What is the use of reducing gas and toxic emissions by 1
or 2 degrees if the next generation will end up baking in suffocating heat? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Basically the
problem is the supposedly civilizing model that is based on a greedy financial
architecture in which wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, producing
poverty for the majority of humanity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">I want to tell you,
sisters and brothers, that unless we change the centre of gravity of all the
financial, economic, political, ecological and social distortions confronting
our century and the planet, the search for a consensual agreement will be
nothing more than a chimera. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">A second root of
the problem of climate change is the war politics of the great powers and the
huge budget devoted to it. With only a fifth of the money spent on the military
by the five major military powers of the world we would be able to resolve 50
percent of our environmental problems…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">And the third root
of climate change has to do with the exaggerated industrialization,
disproportionate consumption and pillaging of resources that could alleviate
the major ills of humanity. The economic model upholding the financial
architecture and war politics has as its nucleus the politics of the free
market, that is, the voracious capitalist policy that pays no attention to
anything other than profit, luxury, and consumerism…. People are treated as
things, and Mother Earth as a commodity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Proposals
to preserve the Life of Humanity and of Mother Earth</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">What are we doing
now? Governments and businesses of the major world powers responsible for the
climate catastrophe have shown they are unable to slow down this planetary
tragedy that is jeopardizing humanity and nature as a whole. Their power and
profits are fueled by the irreparable destruction of the environment…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Stopping climate
change cannot be left to those who profit from the destruction of nature. That
is why we the peoples must directly accept our own responsibility for the
continuation of life and society by taking control of governments, and using
that power to pressure and force government and businesses alike to take
drastic and immediate measures to stop us from falling into this abyss of
nature’s destruction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">To defend our life
and the existence of future generations it is absolutely necessary that the
world’s peoples, the hard-working society suffering daily the effects of
climate change, take control of states, politics, the economy and use it to
preserve humanity and the planet…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">We have to put the
brakes to capitalist accumulation, the endless accumulation of commodities. We
need another civilization, another society, another mentality, other values,
another culture that prioritizes the satisfaction of human needs, not profit,
that believes in human beings and Mother Nature, not the “money god.”… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Either we change
global capitalist society or it annihilates the world’s peoples and nature
itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The environment is
a common heritage of all the peoples of the world, of the ancient peoples, of
the present peoples and the peoples who are to come…. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">The environment is
a common resource…. And that is why it must be administered by us as a
community. Nature itself is a community, since it benefits everyone and affects
everyone. Our ancient indigenous peoples knew this and that is why they lived
as a community. … <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Sisters and
brothers, community is the only way to live in equilibrium with nature.
Community is salvation of the environment, of life, and accordingly of human
beings. Community is life, capitalism is death. Community is harmony with
Mother Earth and capitalism is destruction of Mother Earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Finally, it is
really important to consider how we are to create institutions to judge those
who pollute our planet, who injure our Mother Earth. Humanity needs to create
an International Tribunal of Climate Justice, so that justice may be done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Sisters and
brothers, that in a nutshell is the experience that the indigenous peoples
provide for the good of all humanity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Thank you very
much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">[Applause] <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">See also: <a href="http://lifeonleft.blogspot.ca/2014/10/how-bolivia-is-leading-global-fight.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">How Bolivia is leading the global fight against climate disaster</span></a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn1_9210"><span style="color: #cc6611; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">[1]</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn1_9210;"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"> ALBA comprises nine Latin American and Caribbean
countries: Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, Surinam and Venezuela. Haiti, Iran, Syria, Honduras and El
Salvador are observer states. The Summit admitted two new members to the
Alliance: Grenada and St. Kitts-Nevis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Bolivia Risinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07931217260294325442noreply@blogger.com0