UN General Assembly
2013

“My water” III will result in 100 per cent of the local population having drinking water. We have made advances in that area. Investment in water is a blessing for life. It means minimizing disease, because potable water helps people avoid contracting diseases. I would like all here to know that we have been able to achieve this thanks to a State that lives in conditions of sovereignty and dignity. Why am I saying this? Because previously, politically we were subject to the American empire. The embassies of the United States decided who would be minister. Economically, we were subject to the International Monetary Fund. From the time we arrived, we have said “Enough!” to submitting to international organizations and to the United States embassy. Previously, for any loan, the International Monetary Fund set conditionalities, blackmailing the various Governments. Those conditionalities involved our giving up our natural resources to transnational companies, so that Bolivia would privatize basic services. But basic services are a human right and cannot be private property. So when we freed ourselves