UN General Assembly
2009

commercialization of Mother Earth. And above all, I believe their origin lies in an economic model, an economic system, namely, capitalism. If we do not tell our peoples the truth about the origin of this crisis, then we will be misleading ourselves and the international community too. We will be misleading our peoples, who have great expectations of their Presidents and Governments and of forums such as this one. Although we are promoting and seeking peace, in the light of our experience, we know that we will not find social peace while there is economic inequality, and all the less when there are military bases in some countries. These may be located on many continents, including Latin America and South America. How can we hold discussions when United States military bases provoke distrust among peoples? I would like to briefly tell the Assembly that I was a victim of the military bases operating in my country before assuming the presidency, before the social movements were not merely opposed to policies