Bolivia

This meeting of the United Nations is being held at a time when there is a rebellion of peoples throughout the world, a rebellion against poverty and destitution and against the effects of climate change, against the privatization policies that have caused the financial crisis. 08-51606 30 I wish to tell the Assembly that in Bolivia in recent years we have experienced great uprisings by our people, social movements from the countryside to the cities, of indigenous workers and farmers questioning economic models and systems that simply privatized natural resources and steadily sacked the country. The privatization of basic services and the policies imposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not solve anything for the majority of Bolivians. I came to the presidency in 2005 and 2006 as a result of that struggle by the social movements, which was accompanied by an ongoing labour and social struggle by our Bolivian comrades and brothers who were seeking equality and social justice. With a little experience I can say that in the two and a half years of my Government we have nationalized the natural resources, such as oil and gas, and the economy is beginning to change profoundly. In 2005, before I was elected President, the Bolivian State received only $300 million for its oil and gas resources. Last year, 2007, after nationalization and after we changed the hydrocarbons law, the Bolivian State received $1.93 billion. Being a small country with about 10 million inhabitants, that enabled us to improve the national economy. The recovery of our natural resources is so important that that has been the goal of a historic fight by our peoples. I wish to speak about some results with regard to social issues and about some profound changes in democracy that took place with the participation of the workers in various social sectors. However — and I am certain that in the last few days the world has been able to grasp this — there is an ongoing conspiracy of small groups against this process of change. I want it known that since the first day of my Government some conservative parties that favour imperialism have consistently tried to weaken us and to wear us down. Last year they requested a referendum to recall the President. I accepted that calmly, and instead of my being recalled, some prefects and some opposition authorities were recalled by the Bolivian people. I received the support of 67 per cent of the people in the recall referendum of 10 August 2008. I should like to recall something important that our forefathers used to say — our leaders who fought for control of our land, people such as Tupac Catari. In 1741 we were cut into pieces by the Spanish invasion. Before Bolivia was founded and before dying, our leader said, “I die, but I will return transformed into millions of people”. For the first time a President of the Bolivians has received more than 2 million votes. So the statement of Tupac Catari, the leader of our ancestors, has come true. But that was part of a process of change in the democracy, with the awareness of the Bolivian people. After 13, 14 and 15 August, that small group of conservatives began to organize a coup d’état of municipal authorities and prefects against the Government and the State. I will quickly list some of those events. On 14 and 15 August there was a meeting of a so-called national coordinating committee of the right, which attempted to prevent the national authorities from reaching four regions of the country. They attacked the departmental command of the national police, and there was an attack on the police subcommander. A roadblock was set up in four regions to cut off food supplies for the population. Oil installations were surrounded. There was a general attack on institutions, and in four departments 75 government offices were taken over. The State radio and television were silenced, especially the community radios. The airports were taken by those groups. I remember that, when I was a boy, in the military dictatorships the coups d’état began with takeovers of the State television stations. History is repeating itself, but thanks to the conscience of the Bolivian people this civil coup in Bolivia has been defeated. Thanks to the participation of the nations that have now come together in the Union of South American Nations, this attempted civil coup d’état has been defeated. Here, I would like to say something. Surely, some participants are waiting for me to tell them why we expelled the United States ambassador. Europe and Latin America repudiated the attempted civilian coup, but the Government of the United States did not, nor has it denounced those acts of terrorism. This morning I heard the statement of the President of the United States condemning terrorism. In Bolivia, right wing groups are setting fire to gas pipelines and cutting off the valves for the export of gas to Brazil and Argentina, but the embassy of the Government of the United States does not condemn such acts of terrorism. It is not hard to imagine that, if some social movement were to steal his country’s national wealth, the United States ambassador would condemn, denounce and repudiate such an act. I would like to 31 08-51606 hear the representatives of the United States Government denounce these acts of terrorism. Of course, the terrorists know that the United States is their ally. It is never going to condemn them. The ambassador of the United States was clearly the primary human element conspiring against the United States Government. I remember perfectly the year 2002, when I was a parliamentarian. On the instructions of the United States embassy, I was expelled from Parliament. I was accused of drug trafficking and of being an assassin. In 2002, the United States created a governance programme through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to finance the strengthening of the conservative political parties and put the brakes on a growing political liberation movement, a political movement for the sovereignty of our peoples, a political movement that was designed to bring an end to injustice and to seek equality for Bolivians. I also remember — some participants may not recall it clearly — that in 2002, when I was called for the first time to be a candidate for the presidency, the United States ambassador said: “Do not vote for Evo Morales. If you vote for Evo Morales, there will be no international aid or international cooperation”, thereby instilling fear in the Bolivian people. And they did not stop there. They also said: “Evo Morales is the Andean Bin Laden, and these farmers are the Taliban”. Hence, standing before this Assembly is an Andean Bin Laden who represents the Taliban, which is the indigenous farmers’ movement that historically fought for its claims. There are so many accusations of that kind. When we came to power, we found a CIA office in the Government palace. After we discovered it, we had no problem getting rid of it because we had no need for a CIA office in the palace. Obviously, they were operating from there. For example, in 2004, they wanted to force the National Congress to give diplomatic immunity to civilians or members of the Bolivian military. We rejected that, of course, thanks to our social cohesion. In 2005, they began dismantling the military’s missiles, together with some commands and, of course, the administration in place at that time. Dismantling the military is treason; it is not possible that the Southern Command of the United States armed forces would practice such a policy. However, they continuously tried to control some members of the military. For example, in previous Governments, they created a special counter-terrorism force, the F-10, and at one point in time their representatives informed me that, in 2005 or 2004, they were prepared to kill labour or political leaders who opposed capitalism and imperialism. When I appointed a commander, he was vetoed by the United States embassy. Of course, we are not going to allow any more vetoes. Last year, special firearms munitions were illegally brought into the country at the instigation of the commander of the United States military group, Colonel Campbell. We were told that these were missiles for training purposes. Moreover, they illegally employ young students belonging to United States peace groups to carry out spying activities on officials of the Governments of Cuba and Venezuela. They are working in secret against the Government of Bolivia, thus violating the constitutional rights of their own United States citizens who come to Bolivia on scholarships. I would point out that when one works for equality and for social justice, one is persecuted and conspired against by certain groups. These groups are not concerned about human equality. It is clear that this is a historic fight for our peoples and that it is nothing new. We can speak about the economy, or about the cost of silver as an industrial commodity, but what we are talking about is the fight between rich and poor. It is the fight between socialism and capitalism. That historic struggle is being resumed now, but I feel that these battles are uprisings and rebellions of peoples against an economic model — against the capitalist system. If we do not understand that capitalism is destroying humanity, then I am sure — and I hope that no one will be offended — that we will not solve the problems of life, the problems of the planet or the problems of humanity. I am not accusing anyone of being an accomplice of capitalism. From a communal and labour struggle to an electoral one, from organizer to President, I have become perfectly aware that capitalism is the worst enemy of humanity. As I said a few days ago, with great sincerity, while touring my country, I was brought up in social movements among workers, farmers and indigenous peoples. More than 500 years ago, our forefathers fought colonialism and imperialism, and that is why I am anti-imperialist today. No one is going to move me from that position. If people like me, they like me a lot, but if they do not 08-51606 32 like me, so be it. What the world is going through is unjust. So much has been said about climate change, flooding, droughts, how our mountains are losing their snow. If we continue in this way, we will all be responsible for destroying the planet, and thus humankind. I have heard good statements from other presidents participating in this debate, from which I have learned a great deal; but I am sorry to say that I do not believe that it is enough to simply raise the problems unless we also provide the solutions. I would like to say that some blacklists have been drawn up to punish Governments. It is difficult to imagine that those terrorists groups are not condemned, while the national Government is decertified for supposedly being involved in drug trafficking. According to United Nations reports, some countries are increasing their coca plantations, but they are not on decertified lists because they are pro-capitalist. To those countries that support the counter-narcotics struggle by reducing their coca cultivation, we did not say that there would be no coca, but that there would be no free cultivation of coca, since the coca leaf does have medicinal and nutritional benefits. Once we clearly defined our anti-imperialist position, we were decertified. However, I am quite sure that this is not about certification or decertification, terrorist or non-terrorist countries. Mr. Bush, President of the United States, sent me a message recently in which he wrote: “If I am not a friend, I am an enemy”. I do not care whether I am a friend of the President of the United States, but I am a friend of the people of the United States. I have had many meetings with representatives from social movements in the United States and we agree on our approach to life and humankind. That is why we have to put an end to blacklists. We are living in times where there are no empires, no dominance or imposition of economic models that can greatly harm countries or continents or the whole world. I wish to say that we have begun to work on a proposal. It is called “Ten commandments to save the planet, humankind and all life”. I hope that my colleagues will distribute this document, and with the participation of all it will help us save the planet, humankind and life. One of the first subjects we raise here is how we can put an end to capitalism. Wherever there is capitalism, there is exploitation. Wherever there is capitalism, our natural resources are plundered. That is what we have seen and experienced. Our second point is that we must denounce war. As everyone knows, we are working arduously to put Bolivia back on track by drafting a new constitution. In that new political constitution for the Bolivian state, for the first time the State and the people of Bolivia will constitutionally pledge never to initiate war. That does not mean that we renounce defending ourselves. I do not believe in wars. Speaking of war, I am sure that peoples do not want wars. They do not want the military intervention of any country in any part of the world. In our new political constitution for the Bolivian State, we propose that Bolivia should not accept the military base of any country of the world on its territory. In that way, we shall assert our dignity and defend the sovereignty of Bolivia and of other peoples. I have very respectfully suggested to the people and the Government of the United States that it would be best to withdraw their military from Iraq and Afghanistan and other parts of the world as soon as possible. If they do not, the peoples themselves will expel them because interventionism and war are no solution for life and humanity. Our third point is a proposal for a world without imperialism and colonialism. Last year, I heard a critical issue discussed here by several heads of State. That issue was water — water as a right of all living beings. We also heard discussions on energy and how important it is to have clean, environmentally friendly energy. Speaking of nature, the indigenous peoples have experience living in harmony with Mother Earth and nature. Mother Earth is neither a shopping centre nor a commodity. Thus, the historic struggle of our peoples is for land and territory, and that struggle is being repeated in our country. Our next point, as I said earlier, is to Mother Nature within the United Nations. I hope that can be taken into account. I would also note that the new Bolivian political constitution incorporates the ten commandments to save humanity and the world. Basic services should be human rights. Water, light and telecommunications cannot be in private 33 08-51606 hands. If they are human rights, they should be a public service and not left to the private sector. To be sure, we have many differences with multinationals. Investment is certainly important, but we need investors in Bolivia who are not the owners of our energy and our oil, but who are our partners. My next point is that we should consume only what we need and prioritize local consumption in the context of food sovereignty. We also need to respect the diversity of cultures and economies. Our final point concerns how to live well. What does it mean to live well? Living well is living in equality, solidarity and complementarity, eliminating inequalities between families and the deep-rooted disparities that exist among countries and continents. When we try to live better, sometimes all we do is to become selfish and ambitious. We never think about the larger family, which, for us in Bolivia, is the whole of Bolivia. The struggles of peoples for democracy and for the re-establishment of the rule of law is being repeated in Bolivia. In the past, great social movements led by indigenous farmers brought down dictatorships. In recent days, they defeated an attempted coup in Bolivia, and we hail them. We have just been informed that social movements are wisely mobilizing themselves in a search of peace and asking that new standards be adopted to ensure equality be for all Bolivians. In conclusion, I wish to say that I am convinced that only the conscience of the people can defeat the interests of certain groups and United States imperialism. I heard some leaders this morning sue for peace with a regulated, moderate form of capitalism. I do not believe in that. There will be peace only when there is equality among all human beings; there will be peace only when our identity and the dignity of every people are respected. I do not think there can be peace with capitalism, no matter how moderate or regulated. We need to work together, we need to participate in the struggles of our peoples for equality. Only Governments and leaders working together with their peoples can find equality. When we have equality, there will be social peace throughout the world.