"This is a democratic Revolution and we will respond from the government because we must share the economic burden among all of us," Morales told members of the Movement to Socialism (MAS) insisting that the country's richness should be shared among all.
If only this guy could have run in the U.S. Presidential election!
Morales won the presidential election on Dec. 18 and will be inaugurated on Jan. 22. The first ever politician of indigenous origin elected to president in Bolivia has a daunting task ahead of him in governing South America´s poorest country despite having large oil and gas reserves, which have been exploited by foreign corporations.
According to his politician's salaries proposal, the montly presidential salary will be the equivalent of $1,875 USD and that of legislators will be $1,125 USD. The funds saved as a result will be used to hire more staff in the fields of education and health care.
Morales said he will void at least some contracts held by foreign companies "looting'' the poor Andean nation's natural resources.
The Indian former coca farmer said he will not confiscate refineries or infrastructure owned by multinational corporations. Instead, his government would renegotiate contracts so that the companies are partners, but not owners, in developing Bolivia's resources.
"We will nationalize (Bolivia's) natural resources,'' Morales said at a news conference Tuesday in La Paz. "Many of these contracts signed by various governments are illegal and unconstitutional. It is not possible that our natural resources continue to be looted, exploited illegally, and as the lawyers say, these contracts are legally void and must be adjusted,'' Morales said.
Bolivia's proven and potential reserves total 48.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, second only to Venezuela in South America, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration.
Morales will be supported externally by Brazil -- the biggest importer of Bolivia's gas -- and Venezuela. The United States will probably try to stay on the sidelines, fearful that any measures to curb Morales will backfire into greater support for him, as they did in 2002 when Washington threatened to withdraw aid if Morales was elected, a threat that was not repeated this time around.
Morales' success is also likely to embolden similar movements in the other Andean states -- Ecuador and Peru -- leaving Washington with the prospect that Colombia will remain its only reliable ally on the continent. Washington's loss is Brasilia's gain.
Naturally, the Miani Herald could not resist an opinion piece, which stated:
Morales will fail, of course, just the way Perón, Velasco Alvarado and the Sandinistas failed, and as Chávez, Castro and the rest of the indefatigable revolutionary mob, to the left and right of the ideological spectrum, will fail. The revolutionaries always wind up in a major disaster because the political premise from which they start is wrong.If that premise is to halt the exploitation of the people and resources of South America for the benefit of international capita, then Morales will certainly not fail the people of Bolivia.
Morales' rise from an impoverished childhood, through his leadership of Bolivia's coca growers, to his leadership of a broad social movement -- composed of indigenous communities, labor unions, coca growers and the urban poor -- reflects the progressive alienation of the sectors of Bolivia's population that were disadvantaged by neoliberal policies.
In 2003, the International Monetary Fund, which promotes the neoliberal agenda, reported a fall in Bolivia's per capita income and a rise in unemployment, leaving 63 percent of the population below the poverty line and more than 50 percent living on less than one dollar a day.
Mr. Morales’ transition team preparing to take office advanced that the incoming president plans to symbolically repeal the decree which two decades opened the way for the privatization of Bolivia’s government owned companies.
However Mr. Carlos Villegas, Morales main financial advisor and future Economy minister said the decision will "not have retroactive effects", but will represent a strong symbolic effect for the future "impeding the looting of Bolivia's natural resources".
Former South African president Nelson Mandela, Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Argentine picketers and other social movement leaders from the continent figure in the guest list for the taking office ceremony of president Evo Morales next January 22.
Mr. Morales has told caretaker president Eduardo Rodriguez that besides the presidents from Mercosur members and other neighbouring countries, the ceremony must include "social" leaders such as representatives from the Brazilian peasants "Landless movement", the Council of Indian nations or Pachakuti from Ecuador and the Venezuelan Bolivarian Movement.
