Bolivian President Evo Morales on Latin America, U.S. Foreign Policy and the Role of the Indigenous People of Bolivia | Democracy Now! Bolivian President Evo Morales on Latin America, U.S. Foreign Policy and the Role of the Indigenous People of Bolivia StorySeptember 22, 2006 Evo Morales President of Bolivia. Today, we spend the hour with Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia. Ten months ago, Evo Morales made history when he became the country’s first indigenous leader. At his inauguration in January, he declared the end of Bolivia’s colonial and neo-liberal era. Since then he has moved to nationalize parts of the country’s vast energy reserves and strengthen Bolivia’s ties to Venezuela and Cuba. Morales’ rise to power began with his leadership of the coca growers union and his high-profile opposition to the U.S.-funded eradication of the coca crop. He helped to lead the street demonstrations by Indian and union groups that toppled the country’s last two presidents. On Tuesday, Morales spoke for the first time before the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He vowed to never yield to U.S. pressure to criminalize coca production.

During his speech he held up a coca leaf even though it is banned in the United States. Juan Gonzalez and I sat down with Bolivian President Evo Morales for one of his first extended televised interviews in the United States. TRANSCRIPT This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: Welcome to Democracy Now! and the United States, President Evo Morales. Why did you bring a coca leaf to the United Nations? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] First of all, thanks very much for the invitation to speak with you today. It’s the first time I’ve been in these lands, the United States. And as the coca leaf has been permanently accused of being a drug, so I brought the leaf to demonstrate that the coca leaf is not a drug. The coca leaf is green. It’s not white. So I came to show that the coca leaf is not a drug and it can be beneficial to humanity. So that’s why I was there at the first ordinary session at the United Nations with a coca leaf. Had it been a drug, I would have been detained certainly.

We’re starting the campaign to bring dignity back to the coca leaf, starting with the decriminalization of the coca leaf. AMY GOODMAN: How is it used for beneficial purposes? Why is it so important to you in Bolivia? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] The coca leaf is part of culture. There is legal consumption, traditional consumption, which is called the piccheo in Bolivia, the chaccheo in Peru, el mambeo in Colombia, which is the traditional chewing of coca. Moreover, this traditional consumption is backed up by scientific research done in universities in Europe and the United States. Not long ago a study came out of Harvard University that said it’s a very nutritious — it’s a good source of nutrition, that it can not only be used through chewing, but could also be consumed through eating. The last study done by the World Health Organization has demonstrated clearly that the coca leaf does no harm to people. And there’s also ritual uses, including in the Aymara culture, for example, when you ask for someone’s hand in marriage, the coca leaf plays an important part in that ritual.

We could also talk about a number of pharmaceutical products that come or derive from the coca leaf. The first local anesthetics that were used in modern medicine were derived from the coca leaf. Up to some five, six, seven years ago, there was a company from the United States that used to come to the Chapare to buy coca to be exported to the United States for the use in making Coca-Cola. And we can think of a lot of products, industrial products, that could be derived from the coca leaf that would be beneficial to humanity. JUAN GONZALEZ: Mr. President, in the United States voters here are accustomed to leaders promising much, but when they get into office delivering very little. Since you have become president in Bolivia, you have moved rapidly to make changes. You’ve cut your own salary. You’ve raised the minimum wage by 50%. What is the message you are trying to send to your own people and to Latin American leaders in general? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] I never wanted to be a politician. In my country, politicians are seen as liars, thieves, arrogant people.

In 1997 they tried to get me to run for president. I rejected that idea, even though that brought me problems with my own grassroots organizations. Then I was later obligated to become a member of the lower house of parliament. I didn’t want to do that at the time, either. I preferred to be the head of a rat than the tail of a horse. I preferred to be the head of my own organizations fighting for human rights and fighting for the rights of the members, and not getting involved in electoral political processes and wind up not fulfilling promises. But what I was learning in that period in ’95, ’96, ’97, is that to get involved in politics means taking on the responsibility, a new way of looking at politics as serving the people, because to get into politics means service. And after hearing the demands, the broad demands of our grassroots organizations, I decided finally to run for president. And for the last elections, we had a ten-point program. And of those ten, we’ve fulfilled six already.

The austerity measures that you mentioned a moment ago, I cut my own salary by more than 50%, and the ministers’ as well as also the members of congress, and that money has been redirected to health and education, convinced of the idea that to arrive at the presidency means that you’re there to serve the people. And we said we were going to do a consultation for a referendum on autonomy, greater autonomy for the regions, and we’ve done that. 58% of the population said no to greater autonomy, although it is important to secure more autonomy for the regions and the indigenous communities. We said we were going to nationalize the gas and oil sector. We did, without expropriating or kicking out any of the companies. We said it’s important to have partners, but not bosses. And we did it. The investor has the right to recuperate their investment and to a reasonable profit, but we can’t allow for the sacking of the country and only the companies benefiting, not the people. I just came from a meeting of political analysts, foreign policy analysts here, and they seemed to understand our proposals. The struggle against corruption, it’s a key issue in my country.

We’re starting that campaign aggressively, starting with members of the executive branch. The judicial branch still is not accompanying this process. And I can talk a lot about the other things that we’re doing to meet the demands that were accumulated over time. For example, the centers for eye treatments and surgery, the literacy work that we’re doing. We’ve also made advances in terms of giving people legal documents, something that oftentimes indigenous peoples don’t have. These are the social problems that my family has lived. My mother, for example, never had an ID. She didn’t know when she was born. There’s an anecdote about my father. One day I found his ID, and there was a birthdate on it. I said to my sister Esther, "Okay, let’s have a party. We know what my father’s birthday is." She was very happy. She said, "Yes, let’s do this birthday party." We said to my father, "We’re going to do a party for you." And he said, "But I don’t know what my birthday is." We showed him his ID, and we said, "Here it is.

Here’s your birthday." And he said very bitterly, "I had to invent that date when I was drafted in the military." My father didn’t know when he was born. And when I was in a big political rally in 1999 in the electoral campaigns for the municipalities and I asked everybody there to raise their hand, "Who’s going to vote?" About two-thirds of the people raised their hands. Another third didn’t raise their hand, and I said, "What’s going on here? You’re not going to vote for Evo Morales?" And they all said, "We don’t have IDs. We don’t have documents." And one companero came to me almost in tears. He said, "This society thinks I’m only useful for raising my hands or giving assent to something, but I’m not good enough to vote." He was from northern Potosi, from the highlands. He didn’t know when he was born. He didn’t have a birth certificate. These are the sorts of problems. But with the help of some countries, we’re receiving support so we can give people documents to fully incorporate them as citizens.

JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, when you ran for president, many of the public opinion polls in your country showed you with a sizeable support, but not really anywhere near the majority that you actually received. So it’s obvious that they were not counting the sentiments of the people of your country properly. Why do you believe that you were able to mobilize such large support? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] In our culture, there is a cosmic law. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Don’t be lazy. You know, the people know I never made it to the university. I never had that chance to study. But nevertheless, since I was a young child, I’ve been involved in the social struggles. Starting in 1998, I was one of the principal leaders of a region. And all this time I had to suffer insinuations, attempts to buy me off. But in our culture, honesty is very important. I’m convinced still that it was that honesty that allowed me to arrive at the presidency.

In 2002, when we won the elections but they were stolen from us — I could explain that bitter situation of 2002. But because of a — well, through the electoral laws, campaigns are publicly financed, and we had been assigned more than a million dollars for our campaign. There’s always expenses involved in a campaign, but we spent less than half-a-million dollars. The elections end, we closed the books, did our accounting. More than half-a-million dollars was left over. And I said, "We have to give this money back to the national electoral court, to the state." But some members of my party said, "But how are you going to give the money back. It’s easy to buy papers in Bolivia to demonstrate other forms of accounting." I got angry, and I went on my own with just a couple of other people, and we gave that money back. People were impressed. So, I can tell other stories like this.

This year, in the election of the members of the constituent assembly, which we won in seven of the country’s nine departments — in the national elections that took me to the presidency, we only won five of the nine — and in this case, we also gave back over a million dollars of assigned funds. Some people who are ill-informed said we should have spent that money on health and education, but no, that’s impossible, because that’s money only for electoral campaigns and had to be returned. Honesty is so important. Even though the international institutions have said that Bolivia is sort of the second worst place in terms of corruption internationally, but those are the people who had the government in the past. Here, I haven’t had the opportunity to talk about the Bolivians who have migrated to the United States, but when I was in Argentina and Europe, I have spoken with businesspeople who hire Bolivians there, and they all say, in Europe and Argentina, the Bolivians are honest and hard-working. Even though they’re undocumented, they always pick the Bolivians to work, even if it’s clandestinely. They choose the Bolivians because they’re good workers.

I was thinking we should talk to the secondary schoolteachers about creating a course for the secondary schools in honesty, because they said only through honesty are we going to make it to the presidency. AMY GOODMAN: President Morales, President Chavez of Venezuela called President Bush a devil. What is your response to that? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] I’m not interested in commenting about these words between two presidents. But I’m convinced that people who represent a family, they can be professionals or not, they can be presidents or not. They all have dignity. One thing is to question someone’s policies. We can have differences. But to attack someone’s image or a direct offense, I don’t think I share that. AMY GOODMAN: What is your assessment of President Bush? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] I hope that we can improve relations with Bush’s government. We hope that they can accompany these deep democratic transformations that we’re pursuing. We hope that we can continue with some support in health programs, but especially that they can accompany the transformations that are in course in Bolivia. The indigenous cultures are cultures of dialogue and of life, not cultures of death and war.

I’ve said publicly and very respectfully that the United States and other countries should get their troops out of Iraq, because it’s impossible that invaders and the invaded, and especially the innocent, continue to die. Conflicts should be discussed and debated in fora like the United Nations. I think it’s important to democratize the United Nations so that we can deal with issues like humanity, how to save the planet, how to avoid loss. The indigenous communities live in harmony not only with their fellow persons, but also with Mother Earth. And we’re very worried about global warming, that’s leaving people without water. In the past we’ve seen the bodies of water that were up to certain level, are now declining. That means that in a very short time we’re going to have very serious problems. Without light, we can live with lamps, with oil lamps, but without water, we can’t live. I saw in a forum sponsored by ex-President Clinton yesterday, there’s a commission there that’s studying these issues of global warming. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, in many poor countries around the world, it is said that the most powerful official in the country is the U.S.

ambassador, but in your campaign, you actually ran against, not just the other opponents, but against the role of the U.S. embassy and the U.S. ambassador in Bolivia. What is the role that the United States has played historically not only in Bolivia, but in Latin America, as far as you’re concerned? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] The arrogance of an ambassador or the arrogance of others, including a president, is always an error. This arrogance creates greater rebellion, greater resistance. In 2002, former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, said, "Don’t vote for Evo Morales." And after that, people came out massively to vote for me. I said he was my best campaign chief. And a number of things were said about what would happen if I came to the presidency, that international cooperation would be reduced, we would no longer have access to markets, but in fact I’ve come to the presidency and we’ve seen a lot more support from other governments. The United States embassy tried to effect the changes in the military high command. I said, "That’s not going to be changed.

That’s a sovereign decision that we make." So for that, we have obvious differences, but we want to work out those differences. Even though we’re an underdeveloped country, we’re a sovereign country, a country with dignity. One of the advantages that we have is that we begin to return dignity to the country. The name Bolivia is now understood. Our peoples need a strong sense of self-esteem. We want relations with all the countries that will be based on mutual respect, relations of complementarity, balance, solidarity, and for now, cooperation so that we can assure the changes that we’re trying to achieve. JUAN GONZALEZ: In your nationalization, one of the groups in the gas companies that you nationalized were also Brazilian companies, as well. How have you been able to negotiate or deal with some of these inter-regional problems of the Brazilian companies also having such a huge say in your gas reserves? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] At first, there were protest and resistance, even from companero Lula — well, perhaps more the company. There was an emergency meeting of the four presidents in Iguassu in Argentina. We had a closed-door meeting between the four presidents.

No minister’s presence, without any press. This is the first time I’ve told anybody this. I was attacked. Lula was rough with me. "Where is our partnership? Where is that cordiality? Why didn’t you consult me before the nationalization?" But I defended myself, and I said that on a sovereign basis our country has every right to make decisions about the future of our strategic resources. We are generous. We are companeros. We are in solidarity. And as my older brother, and as the leader of a more developed country in the region, we recognize that and we respect that. I accept him as an older brother, because he too is a union leader. He’s older than me. And he’s older than I am, and in the Indian culture we respect our elders very much. But finally, he understood very well, because we were neither expropriating nor kicking out Petrobras. What I explained is that after the supreme decree that did the nationalization, we were guaranteeing greater security, because the new contracts were going to be transparent and ratified through congress, because previously the contracts were kept under wraps, secret, and never ratified in congress.

And we also showed technically, financially, with numbers, that the company was going to be able to recover their investment and would have a reasonable profit. They weren’t going to have as much profit as before, because the largest oil fields — excuse me, from the largest gas fields, the companies only gave 18% of royalties to the state and took 82% in profit. But now, with the new law we’ve changed that around, now 82% for the government, for the state, and 18% for the companies. They’re staying. There’s no problems. And from that large field that Petrobras is managing, we’ve already seen $150 million coming into government coffers now. AMY GOODMAN: Mr. President, Bolivia was one of seven Condor countries that participated in the efforts to eliminate opponents of the regimes of past decades, that was spearheaded by Pinochet of Chile. The Banzer regime was an ally of the United States. As president, you’re in a position to secure and release the documents of that period, perhaps millions of documents. Will you commit yourself to doing that?

PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] We’re in a phase of not only revealing those documents, but also trying to find out what happened to people who were disappeared under Plan Condor. Some members of the military high command are actually cooperating, who at the time were probably lower-ranking officers or cadets. We have to dignify humanity, ending impunity. And it’s imperative that the armed forces become dignified before the country, as well. It’s important to note how much the image of the armed forces has improved next to my person in the country today. We’re going to continue with this campaign through my minister of justice and to reveal, uncover, to clarify many facts. I very much want to find the bodies also of many of our mining leaders and the body of Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz. AMY GOODMAN: Who was? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] He was a Socialist leader, who put Banzer on trial, and under the Garcia Meza dictatorship he was machine-gunned, and his remains disappeared. An intellectual who led the second nationalization of our gas and oil industries. Now we’re in the third nationalization.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you think Henry Kissinger, who supported Pinochet and the generals in Argentina through Latin America, should be tried for war crimes? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] I’m not sure. That’s probably something for the United States to take up, but I want to take advantage of this opportunity to call on the people of the United States to help us in our efforts to extradite two [inaudible] people who practiced genocide, who were corrupt under previous administrations and who today are free here in the United States. AMY GOODMAN: Names? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, former president, who in 2003 was responsible for the death of over a hundred people killed by gunfire, along with his minister, Carlos Sanchez Berzain. We’re trying now to use all of the instruments at our disposal to extradite him, but it’s not moving forward. It’s running into some resistance here in the United States. A government that says it fights against terrorism, for human rights, against corruption, it’s not conceivable that this person would still be here.

So we ask the people, the government and all the institutions of human rights to help with this. JUAN GONZALEZ: I’d like to ask you, you’ve on several occasions mentioned your indigenous origins in your movement. Throughout Latin America now, 500 years after the European conquest, the Native peoples of Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, are taking much more of a role politically. What is the importance of this movement to Latin America? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] They excluded for over 500 years, exploited, and in many cases — for over 500 years also have full rights. I mentioned at the United Nations that 34 years ago, my mother didn’t have the right to walk through public spaces, on sidewalks, in public plazas. And there are some fascist and racist sectors in Santa Cruz, who don’t want those people to enter into the fairgrounds today. And this is sort of like a fair of producers, as well as cattlemen, and it’s always been inaugurated by the president, and they’re angry because this president, the Aymara president, is not going to inaugurate it.

So there’s this strong feeling of excluded people, discriminated peoples to unite, but not for revenge against anybody nor to oppress or to subordinate anybody, but rather our struggle that recognizing we have obligations that our rights be fully respected. The thinking of indigenous peoples is not of exclusion. I can tell you about the experiences of the Aymara, the Quechua from the highlands and the valleys in Bolivia, of how they welcome people in, but not exclude people. This is the sector that’s been discriminated against. We’ve been called everything. We’ve been called animals. Manuel Rocha once called me the Andean Taliban. But we want fundamentally our rights to be respected. That’s our struggle. AMY GOODMAN: A question about — very last question, and that is, Mr. President, you said that the ambassador, the U.S. ambassador said people shouldn’t vote for you. Do you feel the U.S. is funding opposition groups to you? PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] I don’t have any documentary evidence, although the head of USAID for Latin America stated that they were going to finance a political counterbalance opposition. AMY GOODMAN: And your response?

PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] This is the problem that we face. If there’s going to be U.S. financing, it has to be coordinated through our municipal authorities, as well as our national authorities. These economic supports that come from USAID, for example, that come from taxpayers’ money here in the United States, have to be useful for social ends, and not for political purposes, nor for corruption. And why do I mention corruption? And our mayors, for example, in Chapare can build a wonderful sports field for 30,000 bolivianos. USAID does it for 90,000. With that money, we could do three, not just one. We want those funds to be used well and benefit of young people. AMY GOODMAN: Mr. President, thank you very much. JUAN GONZALEZ: Thank you. PRESIDENT EVO MORALES: [translated] Thank you very much for the interview. A special greeting to the United States people, and thanks for opening this space to me. On my arrival here in the United States, I’ve encountered many friends. I have spoken with ex-presidents Carter and Clinton.

We’ve had good conversations. And it seems like the business sectors are starting to understand our message, that we want partners and not bosses. And many thanks for this interview. The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License . Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us. Up Next Profile: Bolivia's President Evo Morales - BBC News BBC News Profile: Bolivia's President Evo Morales 22 February 2016 Close share panel Image copyright AFP Image caption Evo Morales (left) remains a popular leader despite his apparent referendum defeat this year First elected in December 2005, Evo Morales, from the Aymara indigenous group, is first president to come from the country's indigenous majority. As a leader of a coca-growers union, he was also the first president to emerge from the social movements whose protests forced Bolivia's two previous presidents from office. On election, he promised to govern in favour of Bolivia's indigenous majority, who had suffered centuries of marginalisation and discrimination.

An avowed socialist, his political ideology combines standard left-wing ideas with an emphasis on traditional indigenous Andean values and concepts of social organisation. But his first move, a few months after taking office, was to begin the process of putting Bolivia's rich gas fields under state control. By the middle of 2006, he had renationalised Bolivia's oil and gas industries. Image copyright Reuters Image caption President Morales (r) is a keen football player The increased tax revenue allowed Bolivia to vastly increase its public investment and helped boost the country's foreign reserves. With the gas money, President Morales's administration invested heavily in public works projects and social programmes to fight poverty which reduced by 25% during his government. Extreme poverty dropped by 43%. He also pushed for a radical re-interpretation of Bolivian national identity largely through constitutional reform. Amid protests and disputes, he won a referendum in August 2008 on whether he should stay in office, and then a few months later a referendum approved his plans for a new constitution.

It came into force in February 2009 setting out the rights of the indigenous majority, granting more regional and local autonomy to them and redefining Bolivia as a "multi-ethnic and pluri-cultural" nation. It also set out moves for large-scale land reform, enshrining state control over key natural resources. Bolivia's new identity was symbolised by the adoption of the whipala, a rainbow-coloured indigenous flag which is flown alongside the traditional red, yellow and green banner. Bolivia's new indigenous voice was heard at international climate negotiations where Evo Morales argued from an indigenous perspective for greater respect for "Mother Earth". Re-election Mr Morales's left-wing policies have worried and in some cases antagonised many middle-class Bolivians who believe he is too radical. Opposition was concentrated in the wealthy eastern lowland province of Santa Cruz, Bolivia's economic powerhouse. Image copyright AP Image caption Evo Morales was a close ally of Venezuela's left-wing leader Hugo Chavez Regional leaders there led a campaign for greater autonomy, arguing that Mr Morales's socialist policies were damaging the economy. But over the years, President Morales's relationship with the Santa Cruz business leaders has improved and there is growing respect in Santa Cruz for his growth agenda.

In December 2009 Evo Morales was re-elected president with 64% of the vote, easily defeating his conservative opponent and gaining ground in Santa Cruz. When a referendum was held in February 2016 on allowing him to stand for a fourth term in office, it appears he narrowly lost the vote . Although support among ordinary Bolivians remains strong, some of the indigenous leaders, environmentalists and activists who helped put Evo Morales in power have criticised him, arguing that his policies seem to favour the wealthy, light-skinned minority. Mr Morales met opposition from indigenous groups angered by plans for a major motorway . He had said the 300km (185-mile) road from Villa Tunari to San Ignacio de Moxos would benefit communities throughout Bolivia. But isolated communities of Chiman, Yurucare and Moxos Indians argued the road would open their territory to illegal logging and land grabs. Protests led Mr Morales to suspend the project. And many Bolivians were perplexed by a more eccentric idea for change - the clock on the face of congress which was changed to run anti-clockwise and dubbed "the clock of the south".

International profile Since coming to power, Evo Morales has forged close links with other left-wing Latin American leaders, particularly the late Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel and Raul Castro in Cuba. But relations with the US have been strained. In 2008 he expelled the US ambassador, Philip Goldberg, accusing him of conspiring against his government, and suspended operations of the US Drug Enforcement Administration in Bolivia. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Evo Morales is a hero for many indigenous Bolivians In 2013, he expelled the US Agency for International Development (USAID), accusing it of seeking to "conspire against" the Bolivian people and his government. In New York for the UN General Assembly in September 2014, President Morales called President Obama "an imperialist". Like Mr Chavez, he has cultivated ties with foes of the US, such as Iran. Having come to power with a radical programme aimed at addressing the extreme social divisions and inequalities of Bolivia, he has achieved in a few short years real social gains for the majority of Bolivians who look on his as their own.

But despite Bolivia's economic advancements, the country remains one of South America's poorest countries with analysts concerned it is overly dependant on natural resources. In the first half of 2014, natural gas and minerals accounted for 82% of export revenues. And the government's ability to fight crime and corruption has been questioned. Evo Morales | president of Bolivia | Britannica.com president of Bolivia Alternative Title: Juan Evo Morales Ayma Evo Morales Evo Morales, in full Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959, Isallavi, Bolivia), Bolivian labour leader who served as president of Bolivia (2006– ). A member of the Aymara indigenous group, Morales was Bolivia’s first Indian president. Evo Morales, 2005. Zacarías García—epa/Corbis Born in a mining village in Bolivia’s western Oruro department, Morales herded llamas when he was a boy. After attending high school and serving in the Bolivian military, he emigrated with his family to the Chapare region in eastern Bolivia, where the family farmed.

Among the crops they grew was coca , which is used in the production of cocaine but is also a traditional crop in the region. Evo Morales, dancing with Aymara women, near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, 2006. AP In the early 1980s Morales became active in the regional coca-growers union, and in 1985 he was elected the group’s general secretary. Three years later he was elected executive secretary of a federation of various coca-growers unions. In the mid-1990s, when the Bolivian government was suppressing coca production with assistance from the United States , Morales helped found a national political party—the leftist Movement Toward Socialism (Spanish: Movimiento al Socialismo; MAS)—at the same time serving as titular leader of the federation representing coca growers. Morales won a seat in the House of Deputies (the lower house of the Bolivian legislature) in 1997 and was the MAS candidate for president in 2002, only narrowly losing to Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada . During the presidential campaign, Morales called for the expulsion from Bolivia of U.S.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents (his campaign was bolstered by the U.S. ambassador’s comment that aid to Bolivia would be reconsidered if Morales was elected). In the following years, Morales remained active in national affairs, helping force the resignation of Sánchez de Lozada in 2003 and extracting a concession from his successor, Carlos Mesa Gisbert , to consider changes to the highly unpopular U.S.-backed campaign to eradicate illegal coca production. As the MAS presidential candidate again in 2005, Morales was elected easily, winning 54 percent of the vote and becoming the country’s first Indian president and the first Bolivian president since 1982 to win a majority of the national vote. Sworn in as president in January 2006, he pledged to reduce poverty among the country’s Indian population, ease restrictions on coca farmers, renationalize the country’s energy sector, fight corruption, and increase taxes on the wealthy.

Morales strongly supported efforts to rewrite the Bolivian constitution to increase the rights of the country’s indigenous population, enshrine his policies of nationalization and land redistribution, and allow a president to serve two consecutive terms, though in a referendum in July 2006 the MAS failed to win a majority in the Constitutional Assembly. Morales then nationalized Bolivia’s gas fields and oil industry, and in November he signed into law a land reform bill that called for the seizure of unproductive lands from absentee owners and their redistribution to the poor. His reforms faced opposition from the wealthier provinces of Bolivia, four of which overwhelmingly approved regional autonomy statutes in referenda held in 2008. The Morales government dismissed the referenda as illegal. Tensions escalated, and demonstrations, some of which turned violent, increased throughout the country. A recall referendum on Morales’s leadership was held in August 2008, and two-thirds of the voters supported the continuance of his presidency. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent The constitution that Morales had envisioned and planned for nearly three years was approved by voters in a national referendum held in January 2009.

It allowed him to seek a second consecutive five-year term (previously the constitution limited the president to a single term) and gave him the power to dissolve Congress. Other changes to the constitution furthered indigenous rights, strengthened state control over the country’s natural resources, and enforced a limit on the size of private landholdings. Its passing, however, further aggravated tensions between the country’s indigenous majority and wealthier Bolivians from the gas-rich eastern provinces, who strongly opposed its ratification. In April 2009 Morales signed a law authorizing early presidential and legislative elections, set to take place that December. With the continued support of the Indian majority, Morales easily won a second five-year presidential term. Moreover, in the concurrent legislative elections, the MAS won control of both houses of Congress. Evo Morales - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays Evo Morales Scorpio Politician#19 About Bolivian activist and Socialist leader who became President of Bolivia in 2006. He notably instituted a new constitution before being re-elected in 2009 as he saw his landslide victory as a mandate from his country for change. Before Fame He served for two years in the Special Troops of the Bolivian Army.

Trivia He earned the nickname the World Hero of Mother Earth for his commitment to anti-imperialism and indigenous rights. Family Life He had six siblings, but only two, Esther and Hugo, lived to become adults. He raised two kids named Eva Liz Morales Alvarado and Alvaro Morales Paredes. Bolivia in 2006 | Britannica.com Bolivia in 2006 Originally published in the Britannica Book of the Year. Presented as archival content. Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent The historic nationalization of Bolivia’s lucrative natural-gas industry and the convening of a citizens’ constitutional assembly were the landmark events of 2006. Both were initiatives of Pres. Evo Morales, a former coca farmer who took office in January after having placed first in the December 2005 election. Morales, of Aymara heritage, became Bolivia’s first Indian president after having spent years as a leader of protests by labour, peasant, civic, and indigenous movements that drove two previous presidents from office. He promised to reclaim Bolivian resources from foreign control and give the three-fifths of Bolivians who identified as Indians a stronger voice in national affairs.

Bolivia’s new president, Evo Morales—the country’s first head of state of indigenous … AP The nationalization, announced by Morales on May 1, required local units of foreign oil-and-gas firms to transfer majority control to Bolivia’s state-owned petroleum company, Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB). Defending his decision, Morales said, “For more than 500 years our resources have been pillaged. This has to end now.” Later, however, it became clear that it was one thing to issue a decree and another to put it into practice. Morales had said there would be no compensation for the foreign firms, but it appeared that the firms were able to block the transfer of assets until at least some money changed hands. Hampered by a lack of funds, YPFB missed deadlines for assuming control of Spanish and Brazilian petroleum interests. Its president, Jorge Alvarado, resigned on August 28 amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Morales moved in other ways to change the character of government, traditionally dominated by white and mixed-race elites.

As justice minister he chose Casimira Rodríguez, a Quechua Indian, former housemaid, and leader of a domestic workers’ union. As ambassador to the U.S. he nominated a journalist, Gustavo Guzmán, who had no diplomatic or foreign experience. Convening the constituent assembly in August, Morales described its 255 members as “soldiers for our country’s true independence.” They were given 12 months to draft a constitution, which would then be submitted to a referendum. State control over natural resources, religious and language rights, and judicial reform were listed as priorities by Morales and his supporters. They did not fare as well as they had hoped, however, in July elections for the assembly. Businessmen and landowners in the prosperous southeast worked to enshrine property rights and regional autonomy in the new charter. In November Morales signed into law a land-reform bill that gave the government the right to claim some types of privately owned land and reappropriate it to indigent farmers. Some South American governments were sympathetic to Morales’s attempts to address long-standing inequalities. Argentina took the nationalization in stride and renegotiated a gas-supply agreement with a 47% price increase.

Nationalization inflamed relations with Brazil, the purchaser of two-thirds of Bolivia’s gas exports and a major investor in Bolivia. Illegal settlement of Bolivian territory by Brazilian landowners added to the friction, but Brazilian Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appeared eager to maintain good relations with Morales. Relations with the United States were strained by Morales’s close links with Venezuelan Pres. Hugo Chávez and by the revelation that U.S. officials and the Bolivian armed forces had jointly removed 28 antiaircraft missiles from Bolivian territory shortly before Morales’s inauguration. Bolivia’s Evo Morales Bolivia’s Evo Morales Email Cochabamba, Bolivia. The inauguration of Evo Morales as the first president of Bolivia of indigenous origins marks a watershed in the history of the Americas. The “caras” as they are called, the whites and mestizos who have dominated Bolivia for centuries, are being replaced by an Indian who represents the county’s true majority. Perhaps the most important ceremony in Bolivia this week occurred the day before Morales formal inauguration as president when over 50,000 Indians from Bolivia and around the Americas assembled in the ruins of the ancient Indian city of Tiwanaku.

There the “Power of the Original Mandate” was conferred on Morales. But will Morales be able to truly liberate the Indians of Bolivia, to empower them to take control of their lives, to improve their social and economic lot? In countries like Peru, Ecuador and Mexico, history is replete with betrayal by national leaders with Indian blood as well as by presidents placed in office by Indian movements. Evo Morales’ inauguration however appears to mark a dramatic change. His presidency is the result of an ongoing massive social upheaval that has profoundly shaken the country. Bolivia may be a poor nation, but it has some of the richest popular mobilizations witnessed in Latin America over the past decade or more. On my trip to Bolivia this week I consciously avoided La Paz, partially in hopes of not being trampled in my wheel chair with my fractured ankle as thousands of visitors, reporters and foreign dignitaries took to the narrow streets of the capital. I instead came to Cochabamba, Bolivia’s third largest city with just under a million inhabitants. It is here that Evo Morales made his home for many years. On Thursday he had an informal gathering at his humble abode before departing for La Paz to take up residence at the presidential palace.

He spoke emotionally of his sense of loss at leaving Cochabamba, saying “I hope to return every month to be in touch,” adding, “people here will need to tell me if I am fulfilling my commitment to help the most needy in the country.” Much has been made of the uprising of the poor communities in Los Altos on the plateau above La Paz that shook the foundations of the entrenched political system of the country. In October, 2003 they descended on the capital to oust President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, and then in June, 2005, his successor Carlos Mesa. As part of the accord that installed the head of the Supreme Court as interim-president, general elections were called for December, 2005, leading to Evo Morales triumph. But it is in Cochabamba and the adjacent semi-tropical province of Chipare that one finds the true roots of the popular struggle that lifted Evo Morales to the country’s presidency. It is here that the Movement for Socialism, Morales’ political party, was founded.

Like many others of Indian origin, Evo migrated to the Chipare as a young man from the Bolivian highlands as many of the tin mines were closed and labor unions disbanded in the name of modernizing the country’s mining industry. The growing of coca plants in Chipare became the primary economic activity of the immigrants. Clearing unoccupied lands, the new peasants brought with them their rich indigenous communal and union traditions. They formed a network of local unions, or syndicates, grouped together in seven federations. In 1989, the highly personable and self-effacing Morales became president of the seven federations of coca growers, or “cocaleros” as they are called. From the late 1990s onwards, the cocaleros have fought an intense war against the US sponsored “coca zero” program in Chipare. Intended to uproot and destroy all coca plants, the US militarized the region, setting up four military bases while training and advising special Bolivian battalions.

As a small coca grower, Pedro Rocha, told me while tending his plants, “nothing was sacred, our homes were invaded and even burnt, our belonging were stolen or tossed into the fields, many of us were beaten and arrested, and our subsistence crops along with our coca plants were trampled and destroyed.” The cocaleros lead by Morales organized massive resistance to the eradication program, reaching out to other national unions and to international human rights organizations. Roads were blockaded in the Chipare for more than a month at a time as the local unions rotated their members, women and men, day and night, to stop all traffic through the center of the country. As the war was unfolding in Chipare, the city of Cochabamba erupted with massive demonstrations in 1999-2000 against Bechtel, the US corporation that had taken control of the city’s water supply as part of the privatization of public utilities occurring throughout Bolivia. The citizens won the “water war,” forcing Bechtel out, and giving heart to the rest of Bolivia, doubtlessly helping inspire the people of Los Altos to move on the very seat of government in La Paz.

The subsequent change in presidents also boomeranged in Chipare, as a weakened President Mesa was forced to negotiate a truce with the cocaleros in late 2004, allowing each family to grow one-sixth of an hectare of coca plants. The militancy of Cochabamba and Chipare is palatable as Evo Morales takes over the presidency. As Pedro Rocha declares: “Bolivia’s presidents have all had their special military guards. We will be Evo Morales special guards, ready to rise up, making sure that no one dares to touch him so he can change our country, taking control of our natural resources and ending the privileges of the rich.” Morales in his inaugural address on Sunday, January 22, echoed the struggles of the people of Chipare and Cochabamba: “We cannot privatize public needs like water.

We are fighting for our water rights, for our right to plant coca, for control over our national resources.” He added: “we need to end the radicalism of neo-liberalism, not the radicalism of our unions and our movements.” Paraphrasing Morales discussion of the mission of the Movement for Socialism that brought him to office, he said: “Socialism does not come from a small group of leaders; it comes from a fight, from a communal struggle. Socialism is an original mandate, it means social justice, the participation of all.” ROGER BURBACH is director of the Center for the Study of the Americas (CENSA) and a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley. He is co- author with Jim Tarbell of “ Imperial Overstretch: George W. Bush and the Hubris of Empire ,” He released late last year “ The Pinochet Affair: State Terrorism and Global Justice. ” President Evo Morales: A Timeline | Analysis | teleSUR English President Evo Morales: A Timeline 0 + 2005: December 2005: Evo Morales was elected president of Bolivia with 53.7 percent of the vote.

His historic victory made him Bolivia’s first indigenous president in a country where nearly 60 percent of the population is indigenous, making it the country with the highest percentage of Indigenous peoples in the western hemisphere. During his first presidential campaign, Morales promised to promote nationalization, industrialization and anti-neoliberal economic policies. 2006: May 2006: Morales announced the Presidential Decree 28701 aimed at nationalizing Bolivia’s domestic Hydrocarbon reserves, and allowing the Bolivian government to retain between 80 and 90 percent of gas rents. Since 2005, Bolivia has increased state revenues from Bolivia’s hydrocarbon sector by 285 percent. Last year alone, the state collected close to US$2.1 billion from hydrocarbon revenues and estimates that it will again increase state hydrocarbon revenues by 10.6 percent in 2014. April 2006: Bolivia Joins ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas), a regional bloc that aims to foster integration and co-operation among Latin America and Caribbean countries. Since joining the group, Bolivia has become an important and active member in the regional integration organization.

July 2006: Bolivia holds elections for members of the Constituent Assembly in which the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) officials obtained 51 percent of the vote, translating into 137 seats out of 255 assembly members August 2006: The official inauguration of the Constituent assembly takes place in Sucre. September 2006: Morales spoke for the first time before the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He promised to never yield to U.S. pressure to criminalize coca production. During his speech he held up a coca leaf even though it is banned in the United States, marking the beginning of his campaign to restore the dignity of the coca leaf. September 2006: President Morales launched the Bolivia Cambia Evo Cumple program which has carried out over 5,000 small scale infrastructure projects including the construction of medical clinics, schools and gymnasiums. 2007: January 2007: President Morales required that any U.S. citizen wanting to visit Bolivia, must obtain a compulsory visa, as a way of enforcing reciprocity with a similar measure adopted by the George W. Bush Administration.

August 2007: Morales announces the creation of EMAPA, the state run food agency, as part of a national plan to promote food security. EMAPA lends financial, technical and material assistance to small farmers and consumers. In addition, it seeks to guarantee that Bolivian families have access to affordable and high quality food. As a result, according to FAO, Bolivia saw a rapid decline of hunger by 7.4 percent during 2009-11 and 2012-14. August 2007: The Bolivian government denounced USAID projects dedicated to “restoring democracy” due to the budget proposal of US$120 million in bilateral or “tied” AID. The budget proposal allowed for 30 percent of the aid to be managed by the Bolivian government however with the stipulation that the aid money had to be administered through U.S. approved NGO’s. The remaining 70 percent was to be entirely controlled by the USAID agency.

2008 April 2008: Right-wing opposition from the Media Luna provinces (the Bolivian districts of Santa Cruz, Beni, Tarija, and Pando) rally for autonomy. May 2008: A referendum organized in Santa Cruz without legal legitimacy from the central government produced a vote of 85 per cent in support of autonomy. August 2008: Voters were asked whether they were ‘in agreement with the continuation of the changes enacted by President Evo Morales and Vice-President Alvaro García Linera. The results were a largely in favor of Morales, who received a 67 percent ‘yes’ vote. September 2008: The opposition parties begin to instigate widespread revolts throughout the eastern provinces. . ﻿ September 10 2008: President Morales orders U.S ambassador to Bolivia Phillip Goldberg to leave the country following intelligence indicating that he had supported opposition politicians in southeastern Bolivia whom had tried to undermine the government’s political legitimacy. September 11 2008: Anti-government protesters carried out a series of riots, protests and killings in an attempt de-stabilize the democratically elected government of Bolivia.

The most severe incident occurred on September 11 in which armed opposition group’s massacred 11 unarmed government supporters. September 2008: Peace Corps Bolivia was withdrawn and the programs "temporarily suspended" due to deteriorating political relationships between the United States and Bolivia. November 2008: Bolivian president Morales announced an indefinite suspension of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operations in Bolivia after accusing some DEA agents of espionage. 2009 January 2009: Bolivia held a national referendum vote on the new constitution. Over 61 percent of the population voted in favor. Among other issues, it recognizes the traditional uses of the coca leaf for the first time in Bolivian history. The country’s government then successfully petitioned the United Nations for a reservation that legally permits coca growing and its licit uses within its borders. To this day, the Morales administration supports the policy of ‘social control’ to manage coca cultivation, by enforcing a cap of 1,600 square meters per family. Despite the new law, coca cultivation in Bolivia fell nine percent in 2013 and 26 percent in the past three years, according to a U.N.

report. The other important changes, which integrated proposals from indigenous as well as non-indigenous social movements, are: • Defines hydrocarbons, mining and other natural resources, including water as a fundamental right for life and will not be subject to privatization. • The state will play an important role in the exploitation and regulations of natural resources and the regulation. • Gives Bolivian investment priority over foreign investment. • Includes the notion of living well. • Outlines a new model for economic development • The recognition of Bolivia as a pluri-ethnic state. • The presidential term was extended from four to five years. April 2009: The Bolivian national assembly approves a new electoral law, after a complex series of negotiations and a hunger strike by President Morales. The electoral law allowed him to run for re-election, and also guarantees that indigenous peoples will be reserved seven seats within the new Pluri-national Legislative Assembly. April 2009: Morales called on the General Assembly of the United Nations to develop a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth. December 2009: President Morales is re-elected with 64.3 percent of the vote.

In the 2009 elections, Morales vowed to deepen the social economic policies that had been implemented in his first term. 2010: April 2010: The Morales government played a central role in strengthening the global climate justice movement by hosting the World’s People Summit on Climate Change, in Bolivia, in April 2010. June 2010: He approves new law on Pluri-national Electoral Authorities which established La Paz as the center of the new electoral power. In addition, the legislation allows Morales to appoint one of the seven members of the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE). The remaining appointments are made by congress. The law stipulates that of the TSE officials, at least three must be women, with the minimum of two indigenous representatives. July 2010: The Pluri-national legislature approved a new legal framework on autonomy, the fifth legislation necessary for the full implementation of the new constitution. The law strengthens the government decentralization process, establishing four different levels of local government: departmental, regional, municipal and indigenous. 2011: July 2011: Bolivia’s senate approved a new telecommunications law regulating audio-visual media.

Under the law, revenue towards audio-visual frequencies will be divided into: 33 percent for the State; 33 percent for the private sector; 17 percent for social organizations; and 17 percent for indigenous and peasant organizations. December 2011: Morales bowed to popular pressure and repealed a decree passed on 26 December which would have cut the generous state fuel subsidies, raising prices by as much as 83 percent. Gasoline then cost US$0.54 per liter, and of diesel, US$0.53. The decree was aimed to reduce government spending on subsidies which cost some US$380 million a year. The government-imposed subsidies also largely benefited illegal smugglers and foreign buyers in neighboring Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Chile, which Morales estimated it cost the government US$150 million per year. 2012: May 2012: Evo Morales approves a measure to increase the real minimum wage by 17.2 percent. According to International Labor Organization (ILO) reports, the last two years Bolivia has achieved the highest increase in real minimum wage than any other Latin American country.

December 2012: The MAS government of President Morales claims victory following the recent completion of the prior consultation (consulta) on a proposed road through an indigenous territory (Tioc) and national park, Isiboro Secure (Tipnis). Morales’ claims that the project – one of his most contentious since taking office for a second time in 2010 – received 80 percent support. The results revealed 55 of the 69 communities backed the road; three opposed it; and 11 boycotted the process. 2013: May 2013: Morales expels USAID from the country for alleged political interference in peasant unions and other social organizations. As a result of President Morales’ decisions to expel the U.S. Ambassador, DEA, and USAID, U.S. assistance to Bolivia fell from $99.7 million in FY2008 to $5.2 million in FY2013 and to zero in FY2014. July 2013: Several European countries closed their airspace to Morales’ presidential aircraft, accusing him of harboring NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden.

The allegations were proven false, and Latin American leaders condemned the action, calling it a form of neo-colonial intimidation. December 2013: A Chinese rocket launched Bolivia's first telecommunications satellite into space. According to the Bolivian Space Agency, the country seeks to generate nearly US$20 million per year from services provided by its Tupac Katari satellite, which began offering commercial services in April. #Bolivia gross national income per capita in 2006, the year Evo Morales took office: $1,000 - For 2013: $2,550 - Source: World Bank. — Frank Bajak (@fbajak) October 12, 2014 2014: February 2014: Bolivia installed its first lithium pilot plant, with a production capacity of 1,000 batteries per day. The Bolivian government has pledged to invest US$900 million. May 2014: Bolivia established the first phase of a cable car system connecting the capital La Paz with neighboring El Alto city.

In July Bolivia will invest US$450 million to expand its cable car system, improving connectivity between La Paz and El Alto cities. September 12: Bolivia inaugurated an oil refinery in the central province of Cochabamba that will help the Andean nation decrease its diesel imports. The new refinery is projected to process 12,500 barrels of crude per month, which will enable Bolivia to save US$198 million annually on diesel imports. October 12: Morales is re-elected president in the first round of the Bolivian general elections. Tags Bolivia 2002 - 2006. Under the Volcanoes. A film by Ren� D�vila A film by René Dávila An Account of a revolutionary period From protest to government When we began filming in 2002 it was thought that Bolivia was going through a political and social process that would impact on the history of more than 500 million Latin-American people. The experience Chile had with the "Chicago boys" during the Pinochet regime in the middle of the 70"s was also extended in the 80"s to the whole of Latin America.

In the case of Bolivia the introduction of the neo-liberal model was accomplished in 1985. Hundreds of thousands of miners become unemployed from one day to the next followed by thousands of other industrial workers. This model was then consecrated by law and the country's industries and public services were sold off and ended. During the 1990s in Bolivia as in the rest of the continent, a large number of social movements began to rise up that would eventually become the main protagonists in a process of political change. The rigid implementation of this model was unable to stop the increase of poverty in the country. The popular movements expelled several elected presidents. The "cocaleros" (a name given to the Bolivian farmers working in the coca plantations) cultivate the coca leaves, which have been used traditionally for rituals and medication for thousands of years. Many of the cocalero farmers are ex miners. In 1995 the unions confronted the government and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency - an American anti-drugs organization).

A young Aymara leader from the Chapare region of Bolivia called Evo Morales, becomes a cocalero Member of the Parlament supported by "MAS" (Movimiento al Socialismo - Movement to Socialism) a federation of social groups which brought together farmers, unions, businesses and left wing organizations. At the beginning of 2002, Evo Morales was expelled from congress following some unrest and confrontations between the cocaleros and the armed forces which were supported by the USA. In June of the same year Evo Morales was chosen as candidate for the Republican presidency, however he was defeated by less than 2% by Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada a multi-millionaire businessman brought up in Chicago (USA). Following a revolt against the government in October 2003, the elected president fled the country in an armed forces helicopter to the City of Santa Cruz however before he boarded a plane to take him back to the USA, he decided to sent his official resignation by email! The so-called "Guerra del Gas" (war of the gas) caused more than 70 fatalities - victims of government repression. In a brief summary Evo Morale declared: "...the world must realize that humanity's worst enemy is capitalism.

This is what instigates up rises like ours, and rebellion against the system, against the neo-liberal model, which is the representation of a savage form of capitalism. If the nations" governments are not guaranteeing minimum health, education, and food then they are violating the most fundamental of human rights". The objective of the revolt was not to take over the government, but to stop the exportation of Bolivian Gas, the second largest reserve of gas in the continent after Venezuela. The Bolivan social movement asked for the return and ownership of the countries hydrocarbon previously handed over by Sanchez de Losa to foreign companies. For the Bolivian people this natural wealth was a way to escape underdevelopment and poverty. At the same time they also demanded the setting up of a general constituency. The vice president, Carlos Mesa, took over the government for an interim period and made a commitment to begin a gas referendum and to summon a general constituency. President Mesa refused to support the law that allowed the Bolivian government to recover all its underground wealth. In June 2005 the second gas war conflict began. Facing social pressure Mesa resigned, the popular movement demanded that the president of the Supreme Court, Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze, assumed the presidency.

The country was now on the brink of civil war. The new president had six months to call a general election. On the 18th February 2005, Evo Morales won the election with a majority of 54% of the votes. For the first time in Bolivia an indigenous man acquired power. He then became the second president ever to be elected by an absolute majority in the country's history. In January of 2006 Evo Morales was officially declared president of Bolivia. Bolivia 2002 - 2006 Under the Volcanoes The production of Under the Volcanoes has been developed like a geographical journey through Bolivia between 2002 – 2006. The frequent meetings mainly with anonymous people who are the prime and true protagonists of the documentary and the interviews with Evo Morales as well as with Alvaro Garcia Linera - a sociologist, ex guerrilla fighter and political prisoner and now Bolivia vice president - make this a compelling documentary. Under the Volcanoes is a documentary structured by placing together the various episodes relevant to the key moments in recent Bolivian history.

The first episode is centred on the arrival of the Socialist Movement (Movimiento al Socialismo) M.A.S. to congress. The following episodes are about the first and second War of the Gas, also of the Santa Cruz region's attempts to become an autonomous region, the presidential elections and the take over of power. - Bolivia (2002) - La Guerra del gas (2003) - Cocaleros (2004) - Segunda Guerra del gas (2005) - Las elecciones (2005) - Pachakutik (2006) Formato de rodaje: DVCAM -- Formato de difusión: DVCAM, DV, DVD VHS -- Duración: 1 hora 50 minutos -- PAL / NTSC -- Producción: DVLPROD Chile / Francia -- Realización: René Dávila -- Post producción sonido: Mario Díaz, Baucis Multimedios -- 2002 / 2006 Chile Impedes Bolivia's Foreign Minister Visit to 'Port' | News | teleSUR English Bolivian President Evo Morales rejects Chile's attitude against Bolivia.

| Photo: ABI Published 19 July 2016 - Morales said Chile's “attitude” is part of "a colonial and even fascist mentality." Bolivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday had harsh words for neighboring Chile after his Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, had to wait for more than six hours to get into the Chilean border city of Arica that serves as a free 'port' for Bolivia. "The Foreign Minister's visit has uncorked all... mistreatment and discrimination against Bolivians and the non-compliance with international trade rules," Morales said. RELATED: Bolivia's Claim to the Sea: What's at Stake and Why it Matters Choquehuanca travelled along with a delegation on Monday to the port city in order to verify allegations of abuse and discrimination against Bolivian truckers. Chilean authorities however did not allow them free access, saying they had not been informed them earlier about the visit. Bolivian authorities have also accused Chile of violating the 1904 treaty which forces the government of Santiago to facilitate access to the sea to the neighboring country after Bolivia's coastal territory was taken during the War of the Pacific (1879-1883).

Morales said Chile's “attitude” is part of "a colonial and even fascist mentality." Since Morales became president in 2006, he has continuously called for "fair and sovereign access to the sea" for his country. "Some groups in Chile will attack the economy of Bolivia because they know that we have started to grow and that Bolivia has a future,” he said. Morales maintained that Choquehuanca is a representative of Bolivia who was visiting the neighboring country to strengthen brotherhood, but also to resolve outstanding issues. Bolivia filed a complaint with the ICJ in April 2013, asking the court to compel Chile to negotiate “in good faith” over the country’s access to the sea. RELATED: Chile's Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz fired back at Morales, saying that "no Bolivian government has taken the relationship with Chile to such low level in 100 years." The Bolivian delegation is also expected to arrive in the port of Antofagasta. Tags Gift Catalog | Democracy Now! All Products Bolivian President Evo Morales Interview 2006 In a Democracy Now!

special, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez spend the hour with the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, in one of his first extended televised interviews in the United States. In late 2005 he made history when he became the country’s first indigenous leader. At his inauguration in January, he declared the end of Bolivia’s colonial and neo-liberal era. Since then he has moved to nationalize parts of the country’s vast energy reserves and strengthen Bolivia’s ties to Venezuela and Cuba. On Tuesday, Morales spoke for the first time before the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He vowed to never yield to U.S. pressure to criminalize coca production. Interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez Originally broadcast on 9/22/2007

Question: Evo Morales became president of which country in 2006?
Answer: Bolivia