Bolivia

To begin with, I should like to congratulate the President heartily on his election. 152. On behalf of the people of Bolivia, I wish to extend a fraternal greeting to all the peoples represented here and to speak from this, the highest rostrum, first about the ideals and aspirations which have shaped our principles in international affairs and then about our opinions on the problems confronting this Assembly. 153. Bolivia is a small country of great contrasts which for the past ten years has been undergoing a revolution. This revolution is being carried out at the national level in order to ensure that Bolivia's natural riches shall benefit the Bolivians, and at the individual level in order to achieve two ideals — economic security and freedom — which we believe to be the inalienable right of the human person. 154. Bolivia has been generously endowed by nature. It undoubtedly possesses all the resources it needs to sustain a healthy and expanding industry and to feed its population more than adequately. Suffice it to note that with the produce of Potosi a bridge of silver could have been extended across the Atlantic. Nevertheless the possibility of utilizing these resources to promote the well-being of the bulk of the population was denied us until ten years ago. 155. In 1952, the year in which our revolution began, the principal sources of Bolivian wealth were the mines and the land. Of our mining production, which accounted for 94 per cent of our total exports, 76 per cent came from mines owned by three individuals, while 70 per cent of the usable land, which had to feed some 4 million inhabitants was in the hands of 100 families. 156. The mining barons and great landowners not only amassed fabulous fortunes but, what was worse, invested their wealth outside Bolivia, giving rise to such world-wide monopolies as that of tin. On the other bleaker side of the medal, the average individual income of the great majority of the population was barely $40 a year. These great contrasts of such clear and dramatic injustice both explain and. justify a revolution. 157. Our revolution began with the nationalization of the mines owned by the three individuals and thus we did away with a concentration of private economic power which was greater than that of the State itself and whose influence on the Government had been decisive and corruptive. Land reform was carried out on the principle that the land belongs to those who work it, and today we can assert with justifiable pride that there is not a single Bolivian peasant who does not possess an adequate piece of land. 158. The nationalization of the mines and the land reform were decisive factors in the effort to bring the benefits of Bolivia's wealth to the Bolivian people and they made a fairer distribution of wealth possible. The substantial reduction in the disparity between the excessively rich and the excessively poor has resulted in an increase of 120 per cent in the average annual income per caput. The peasants have entered the consumer market, expanding it fivefold, and the working people and middle class now enjoy an advanced social legislation which protects them from birth to death. 159. The better distribution of wealth not only brought the ideal of economic security closer but opened the doors which had barred our way to freedom. The peasant, who could be sold with the estate on which he worked, is today no longer a serf but a citizen. The number of schools has risen more than tenfold and the right to vote, which was restricted to 60,000 persons — those with a certain level of income — is now exercised by all who are of age, without any distinctions whatsoever, 160. The Bolivian man, master of his country's fate, has found a new dignity in his responsibilities and is entering the mainstream of world culture with a worthy contribution which retains his own distinctive stamp. 161. The Bolivian revolution, despite the features it has in common with other similar processes in under-developed countries, has its own individual character, since it arose as an expression of the deepest yearnings of a particular people at a particular stage in its historical development. It acknowledges its sources of inspiration but does not recognize ideological or political vassalage, and it does not claim to be an example but simply an experiment which other peoples might find helpful. 162. It Is inevitable, however, that the principles which inspired the Bolivian revolution should determine the conduct of Bolivia's representatives in matters relating to international affairs. It is because we waged a long struggle to possess our own country that we resolutely support the principle of self-determination, and it is because we recognize the right of all other peoples to do likewise that we resolutely defend the principle of non-intervention, 163. At the root of the principles of self-determination and non-intervention lies, we believe, the will of the common man. We think that it is the people who are called upon to decide the destiny of their land and that once they have taken this decision it must be respected by all others. We do not think that our role as representatives of our countries is to deliberate on the fate of other nations, but rather to co-operate in helping the peoples of these nations to deliberate for themselves. 164. That is why we feel, too, that in relations between nations no form of economic dependence or political subjugation can be justified. We sometimes hear it said that a certain people Is not ready for freedom. But this argument advanced internationally inevitably brings to mind the argument that all national tyrannies have used to justify their existence. It may well be that a new nation will need the cooperation of others in its early days, but in our opinion there is no denying that preparation for freedom is acquired by the practice of freedom and in no other way. For that reason we have invariably supported the emergence of new States, which today are an adequate reason to justify the existence of the United Nations and the best proof that mankind is moving forward. 165. Disregard for the principles of self-determination and non-intervention has brought about a dramatic and artificial situation in which we find peoples that are denied the possibility of expressing their wishes, countries that are involuntary fields of battle between other countries, nations that are occupied and nations that are divided. In the existing circumstances it might well appear naive to claim that in every case the common man should be enabled to decide the fate of his country considering that this dramatic and artificial situation is largely dependent on the conflict of interests between the great Powers. Despite this, however, we firmly maintain our view that these interests, however powerful they may be, do not beget rights and that where the fate of nations is concerned the only right worthy of that name is the right of the common man who is born in each nation and who is therefore its true master. 166. Furthermore, we believe that the element of force in international affairs must be replaced once and for all by obedience to the law. We think that the means to this end lie in disarmament with sufficient control to avoid suspicion, in the development of the machinery of international law and in the continuous strengthening of the bodies responsible for its enforcement. 167. As regards disarmament, our conduct is governed by a long-standing conviction. As early as 1954 Bolivia urged the necessity of disarmament for Latin America in order that the resources expended on military preparations prompted by mistrust could be directed to the more important task of combating backwardness, ignorance and want. Today we reiterate this opinion and do so with even greater force. It is easy to foresee the severity with which history will judge the incredible paradox of today's huge expenditure on the technical development of atomic weapons that are destined to streak through the skies of, foreign countries whose masses are ill-fed, ill-clothed and ill-housed, 168. The small nations cannot disregard this paradox, when a mere fraction, one twentieth of the military budgets of the great Powers would be enough to accelerate their progress considerably and when today the danger of a conflict is total, as are also the threats. 169. The inauguration of the United Nations Development Decade by the General Assembly at its sixteenth session has aroused increasing hopes throughout the world and has thus placed upon the United Nations a heavy responsibility. 170. I trust that it is not out of place for me to describe some of the problems which Bolivia faces as an under-developed country, for I do so in the knowledge that other countries in the same position are facing similar problems and in the belief that our experience may be of use to them. 171, Once we had put a stop to the outflow of our wealth, had distributed it more equitably and had thus created an adequate framework for fuller freedom, we turned our efforts towards increasing the volume of that wealth by developing and diversifying our production. 172. In that field, first alone and then with the co-operation of other countries, to which we pay a tribute, we have achieved some worthwhile results. Ten years ago we were importing 60 per cent of the hydrocarbons we needed from abroad; today, we export hydrocarbons. We are self-sufficient in sugar and rice, which we formerly had to import; we have greatly increased the volume of our exports with the addition of new products, and our industry is growing at a significant rate. Furthermore, under the terms of the Charter of Punta del Este, we are launching a ten-year plan, at the end of which we hope to have doubled our per caput income for the second time. 173. Notwithstanding these achievements, we still have much to do. We believe that three factors must operate concurrently if we are to succeed: our own efforts, international co-operation and fair treatment for our raw materials. 174. The overwhelming majority of the Bolivian people have vigorously and seriously applied themselves to the task of overcoming their present state of under-development and becoming an integral part of the century in which they live. They are well aware of the urgency of that undertaking and of the need for sacrifice. 175. We rely to a certain extent on international co-operation. Indeed, it seems obvious that the task of overcoming under-development and reducing the wide gulf separating the rich and the poor nations is a duty and a necessity for both groups: for the rich nations because, firstly, they must have a continuously expanding market in order to preserve their prosperity and, secondly, it is wise to avert the explosive effects of resentment and frustration built up when those who have everything live side lay side with those who have nothing; for the poor nations because their peoples are lightly clamouring for their share in the enjoyment of the wealth which they have helped to create. 176. Nevertheless our own efforts and international co-operation are not the only factors in the task of overcoming under-development. Fair treatment for the raw materials produced by the under-developed countries is just as important, or even more important. 177. Dependence on the price of raw materials is one of the most striking features of under-development. For example, Bolivia today depends to the extent of 65 per cent on its exports of tin in order to cover its import needs, which amount approximately to 90 per cent in machinery, 60 per cent in manufactured goods and 30 per cent in foodstuffs. 178. Consequently, the price of tin is of paramount importance to Bolivia. In the last ten years, however, while the price of tin has remained the same, the price of the machinery required to produce it has increased by 30 per cent. Moreover first the Soviet Union and then the United States have invaded the international tin market, upsetting its normal equilibrium by offering large quantities for sale. 179. To take the example of Bolivia, it is fair to say that no under-developed country can hope to develop if the price of the raw materials it exports remains the same while the price of the machinery it has to import to produce them goes up. Any country has reason to despair of its future when the normal equilibrium of the primary commodity markets on which it depends remains at the mercy of the big countries, which can upset them with impunity. 180. The United Nations would riot be living up to the responsibilities it has assumed in launching a Development Decade if it failed to develop an effective, workable and adequate method of protecting primary commodity prices as a factor in international co-operation. 181. The problems of under-development and its possible solutions, namely the country's own efforts, international co-operation and fair treatment for raw materials, are common to many countries. Bolivia, however, has a further problem of its own which is a serious obstacle to all its efforts: namely, the lack of its own direct access to the major channels of world trade. 182. Of course, Bolivia is not the only land-locked country. It is, however, one of the very few which have no waterway linking their large population centres with the rest of the world and whose commercial traffic is therefore subject to foreign laws and the will of other countries. Moreover, it is the only country in the whole world which was deprived of its coastline — over 150,000 square kilometres — by an unjust war. Every Bolivian, without exception, burns with an unquenchable desire to return to the sea. In this era of the rule of law, when new concepts of international solidarity are being established, there is no reason why a nation, an entire nation, should continue to remain imprisoned. 183. Bolivia will appeal in due course to the spirit of solidarity of all peoples, to which it has contributed so much, so that a just remedy may be found for the tragedy of its isolation. 184. In conclusion, I would express the most fervent hope that the ideals of this Organization, in which so many place their faith, will soon be realized in the interest of the happiness of all peoples.