Bolivia's Morales speaks for one hour on Democracy Now

[IChing]

Yeah, I know another left wing, freely elected anti-Diablo, socialist president.
It should be good

[11cents]

1. He has a lot more dignity than Chavez.

Chavez's travelling circus is helping el Diablo. Therefore, it's bad.

[Warpy]

3. ...and a lot less OIL

so he's still under the Chimp's radar. Morales is no man of the people, he's a wealthy coca farmer who's sick of DEA interference in Bolivia's economy.

He may yet surprise us all, though, and actually institute the land reform he's talked about.

He's already outlasted many of his predecessors.

[IChing]

4. He has cut his salary and raise minimum wage 50%

Land reform to peasants
The total area of land handed out on this occasion was not reported, but the government is said to have distributed 24,800 sq km (9,600 sq miles) since the agrarian reform programme started in June.

Mr Morales has vowed to redistribute 200,000 sq km - an area double the size of Portugal - by the end of his term in 2011.
But the programme has enraged landowners, with Bolivia's main landowners' federation pledging to form "self-defence groups" to defend their land. One landowners' group has called the plan "a nuclear bomb for Bolivian agriculture".


Morales immediately demonstrated he is following a drummer different from that of every Bolivian president of the past 25 years. He appointed representatives of social movements and left-wing intellectuals to key posts, nationalised the hydrocarbon sector on 1 May 2006 and arranged for the election of a constituent assembly and a referendum on regional autonomy on 2 July.

[BrotherBuzz]

6. Bush has over-the-horizon radar and is watching Bolivia closely

Bolivia is sitting on top of huge natural gas reserves, and you can bet dimes to donuts he will attempt to insert influnce by attempting to destabilize Morales so his energy boys can move in and tap into it. The energy boys were well on their way to capturing the prize before Morales came into power and nationalized the resources, but they won't give up.

Keep an eye on the doings in Paraguay; specifically Mariscal Estigarribia:

•Bolivia has been placed on the National Intelligence Council's list of 25 countries where the United States will consider intervening in case of “instability.”

•This is scary talk for Latin American countries. Would the United States invade Bolivia? Given the present state of its military, unlikely.

•Would the United States try to destabilize Bolivia's economy while training people how to use military force to insure Enron, Shell, British Gas, Total, Repsol, and the United States capture Bolivian gas for pennies on the dollar? Quite likely.

•And would the White House like to use such a coup as a way to send a message to other countries? You bet. President Bush may be clueless on geography, but he is not bad at overthrowing governments and killing people.

Dark Armies, Secret Bases, and Rummy

by Conn Hallinan

November 24, 2005

But there is nothing amusing about an enormous U.S. base less than 120 miles from the Bolivian border, or the explosive growth of U.S.-financed mercenary armies that are doing everything from training the military in Paraguay and Ecuador to calling in air attacks against guerillas in Colombia. Indeed, it is feeling a little like the run up to the ‘60s and ‘70s, when Washington-sponsored military dictatorships dominated most of the continent, and dark armies ruled the night.

U.S. Special Forces began arriving this past summer at Paraguay's Mariscal Estigarribia air base, a sprawling complex built in 1982 during the reign of dictator Alfredo Stroessner. Argentinean journalists who got a peek at the place say the airfield can handle B-52 bombers and Galaxy C-5 cargo planes. It also has a huge radar system, vast hangers, and can house up to 16,000 troops. The air base is larger than the international airport at the capital city, Asuncion .

Some 500 special forces arrived July 1 for a three-month counterterrorism training exercise, code named Operation Commando Force 6.

Paraguayan denials that Mariscal Estigarribia is now a U.S. base have met with considerable skepticism by Brazil and Argentina . There is a disturbing resemblance between U.S. denials about Mariscal Estigarribia, and similar disclaimers made by the Pentagon about Eloy Alfaro airbase in Manta , Ecuador . The United States claimed the Manta base was a “dirt strip” used for weather surveillance. When local journalists revealed its size, however, the United States admitted the base harbored thousands of mercenaries and hundreds of U.S. troops, and Washington had signed a 10-year basing agreement with Ecuador .

<more>

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=HAL20051124&articleId=1322

[IChing]

7. He was just ask if Henry Kissinger should be tried for War Crimes

because of his involvement in Pinochet, he said that was a US problem but would like the US to extradite to Bolivians living in the US for war crimes, a former President involved in the deaths of 100 people and another high ranking member of the govt.. who had been set up in Bolivia by Pinochet. He said it was going no where.

He is very careful not stepping on toes.

[BrotherBuzz]

8. I suspect he's thinking of alumni from the School of the Americas, too

You know what I mean, Vern?

[me b zola]

10. Morales said the US has been trying to influence elections

Morales said that the US ambassador was telling people not to vote for him (Morales). He also stated that the US was pumping money into Bolivia to influence public opinion.

It was a fascinating interview.

[BrotherBuzz]

12. The US pumps our money into Boilvia to influence elections through NED

National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is in essence, a civilian body of the CIA. Never, has a name been more misleading.

<snip>

Other methods of destabilization are already underway. Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the U.S. government has spent millions to support discredited right-wing political parties and stifle grassroots movements in Bolivia. Between 2002 and 2004, a grant from the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy (NED) allowed for the training of thirteen "emerging political leaders" from right-wing parties in Bolivia. These 25-to 35-year-old politicians were brought to Washington for seminars. Their party-strengthening projects in Bolivia were subsequently funded by the NED.

<more>

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/167/1/

[IChing]

2. His speech on the UN is being shown now

Which I didn't see on C-span.

[IChing]

5. Morales says he has no comment on Chavez's statement on El Diablo

He said it was between to presidents. His opinion of El Diablo is that he hopes he can have dialogue but US needs to get out of Iraq.
Conflicts should be debated in the UN and the UN needs to be democratized.

[gorbal]

9. Nice to see him get some press.

He needs to think up some good insults so that the press will consider him worth covering.

[1932]

11. Either the US media ignores you or tries to undermine you if you're an

anti-neoliberal politician.

[gorbal]

13. He should remember to bring his favorite author with him

He could at least raise public conciousness about 'something'.