Moderate fall of poverty rate in Bolivia

[Judi Lynn]

Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Moderate fall of poverty rate in Bolivia

Bolivia: Poverty in Bolivia reached the lowest rate of the last 10 years, according to a Jubilee Bolivia Foundation's report published by Cambio daily on Monday.

The non-governmental organization reported that out of 10 million people, there are about six million poor and three million of them are extremely poor.

The Economic and Social Policy Analysis Unit (UDAPE) pointed out the moderate poverty rate decreased from 66.4 to 59.3 percent in the 2000-2008 period.

According to that information, the extreme poverty dropped from 45.2 to 32.7 percent in the same period, which represents less than 12.5 percentage points.

Jubilee said it is a relief that poverty rates are on downward trend, although it added that this will depend on its sustainability, development policies and the rise of activities to step up production and to generate jobs. Bolivia has signed a 20-million-dollar loan in February with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to the first phase of the "Plan Vida" (Plan Life) to eradicate extreme poverty.

http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/03/24/wld05.asp

[protocol rv]

1. I like Evo Morales

He seems to be more like Lula, pragmatic and even handed. The Bolivian economy is being guided in a fairly sane fashion - that is, they can achieve the social agenda while avoiding capital flight and economic trouble. Hopefully as time goes by Lula will personally have more influence on Morales, and help him avoid a radical approach such as being done in Venezuela, which is causing economic damage.

Long term, for a truly sustainable improvement, they'll need to control population growth and figure out how to exploit their lithium and gas resources. But that's going to be tricky, if they allow themselves to be swayed by the communists, then those industries won't be developed to benefit the Bolivian people.

[Peace Patriot]

2. Yeah, and you like Chevron-Texaco and made a racist comment about "Indians"

in another thread, here...

“Indian presenting a complaint?”
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x30994

Your comments are about as useful as Bush Jr's.

[protocol rv]

4. But I was right.

It was an Indian presenting a complaint.

[Peace Patriot]

3. I'm glad to see that Evo Morales has very similar policies to those of Hugo Chavez

among other things:

1. Reducing poverty.

2. Asserting his country's SOVEREIGNTY over its natural resources, and insisting upon fair contracts with multinational corporations that benefit Bolivia's social programs. Morales was in fact advised on their gas contracts by Chavez government financial experts and negotiators, which resulted in doubling of Bolivia gas revenues from $1 billion/yr to $2 billion/yr. Morales' ability to reduce poverty, and to fund health care, pensions, education and other benefits for the poor is directly related to Chavez's advice to get tough in the gas contract negotiations.

Lula da Silva, in Brazil, has also been following Chavez's lead as to asserting Brazil's sovereignty in contracts for exploiting Brazil's new oil find, insisting on a majority share in the projects for Brazil and using profits to reduce poverty and address other social programs.

Good Lord, I hate lies and propaganda, like those of "protocol rv"'s, above. And my "rule of thumb" for statements of Bushwhacks applies to "pr," that, whatever "pr" says, presume the opposite and you will be close to--if not right on--the truth of the matter.

[protocol rv]

5. Well, like I told you many times before....

Nations never surrender sovereign rights when they award an oil extraction permit or allow the state oil company to sign a contract with a private company. The tale you keep cut and pasting about the Venezuelan government's deals with oil companies is a figment of somebody's imagination...and whoever is writing your material doesn't know what's really going on. I happen to know a lot more than you do.

And nobody is following Chavez' lead, not anymore. Definitely not Lula, that's like saying a schnauzer is pushing a Saint Bernard around. As for Evo Morales, he has distanced himself somewhat from Chavez' policies. When I think of it, everybody seems to be pulling away as they see the Venezuelan money dry up. This is why the Argentinian ambassador defended the Interamerican Human Rights Commission after it issued a report very critical of Venezuelan human rights situation. Do you recall what I wrote about the way Castro killed Cuba's ethanol industry? Who followed Castro's lead? Venezuela did.

[Peace Patriot]

6. Like I said, my Bushwhack 'rule of thumb' applies to you. Whatever you assert, the opposite is true.

Your views on Latin America are very like the views of "tea baggers"--people who would call a health care bill that is a gift to the insurance, pharmaceutical and other medical corporations "socialist"--crazily wrong, like those who challenge Darwin's theory of evolution and hate science and think that the universe was created in seven days--upside down, inside out and backwards, like the nonsensical events in Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass." Jabberwocky.

"Nations never surrender sovereign rights when they award an oil extraction permit or allow the state oil company to sign a contract with a private company."

The rightwing rulers of nations routinely sell the peoples' sovereignty away to multinational corporations, much like the rightwing in Venezuela did, prior to Chavez--giving the oil away in 10/90 deal, favoring the multinationals. Chavez insisted on a 60/40 deal favoring Venezuela and its social programs, and would not knuckle to any pressure from Exxon Mobil or anyone else. THAT is ASSERTING Venezuela's SOVEREIGNTY--its right to control its own resources and to benefit the people of the country with resource profits. Bolivia, Brazil and others have taken their cue from Chavez--don't bend over for the multinationals! And Bolivia had direct help from the Chavez government in the gas negotiations.

"...whoever is writing your material..."

Like Bushwhacks and "tea baggers," you are projecting. Who is writing YOUR material?

"I happen to know a lot more than you do."

In your dreams.

"...nobody is following Chavez' lead, not anymore..."

Brazil just did. Lulu insisted on a 60/40 share of the new oil find contracts. So did Bolivia, on the gas contracts. It is only in your crazy dreamworld that they did not. Brazil furthermore recently invited Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Brazil for a friendly meeting, just like Chavez did, and strongly supported President Mel Zelaya against the rightwing/sneakily U.S. supported coup in Honduras, just like Chavez did.

"When I think of it, everybody seems to be pulling away as they see the Venezuelan money dry up..."

That crazy dreamworld of yours again. The Chavez government just signed 8 multinationals, from as many countries, to develop the Orinoco Belt--the biggest oil reserve on earth--twice that of Saudi Arabia. And oil prices have doubled to $80/barrel since the Chavez government wrote their very conservative 2010 budget based on $40/barrel. They will be swimming in money. They have weathered the Bushwhack Financial 9/11, due to good financial management, including having socked away $50 billion in international cash reserves, having operated with low debt and good credit, having maintained high employment rates, having overseen five straight years of sizzling economic growth (2003-2005), and having voluntarily devalued the bolivar at an opportune moment of impending growth. And they have done all this while dramatically expanding educational opportunities, health care and other social programs, and reducing poverty by half and extreme poverty by 70%.

I am not the one writing from a script. You are. The script is that "the Chavez government is in trouble" and it is the same script that we see in the corpo-fascist press, which worked so long and hard on their "Chavez is a dictator" script. Now he's "in trouble." Hm. Some "dictator," who can't control the weather and, and is somehow responsible for the drought that affects hydroelectric power resulting in blackouts, and can't control street crime and is somehow responsible for Venezuelans being gun-lovers. Some "dictator" who can't "dictate" his way out of these routine problems of government! So now he's a "failure." Same scriptwriters, different script. Both of these scripts ignore overwhelming facts to the contrary. Chavez is neither a "dictator" nor a "failure." He is a good president.

Your view is like the "tea-bagger" view of Obama. Now matter what the man does, he is wrong. That is the way the corpo-fascist press and the CIA and you treat Chavez. That is the way the fringe rightwing here treats Obama. It is an extremist view. And neither the Argentine ambassador's pet peeve, nor Castro's opinion of the ethanol industry has any relevance whatsoever. After that OAS trashing of Venezuela, the rest of Latin America decided that they want to be rid of the OAS and held an organizing meeting to create a new organization that does not include the U.S. as a member. As for the ethanol industry, Food First and other environmental and food security groups have warned that it is an extreme danger to forests and to local agriculture. It is no panacea.