Morales accuses US of inciting marchers

[Bacchus39]

http://news.yahoo.com/morales-accuses-us-inciting-marchers-231218261.html

AP – 35 mins agoLA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales is accusing the United States of inciting a march by indigenous protesters against a Brazilian-financed highway his government is intent on building through an Amazon nature preserve.

Morales says his government isn't ruling out expelling the U.S. Agency for International Development.

It's not the first time Bolivia's leftist leader has threatened to expel USAID.

His critics say he's using the U.S. agency as a scapegoat for trying to explain away opposition from indigenous groups in Bolivia's eastern lowlands to development projects and oil and gas exploration

[Name removed]

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[Bacchus39]

2. because then he'd be out of scapegoats???

Love how the the US is "subverting" Bolivia through promotion of indigenous rights, environmental preservation, and freedom of speech.

[ocpagu]

3. Good for him

USAID is another branch of CIA. Just get rid of it already.

[Zorro]

4. If "USAID is another branch of CIA" as you assert

why hasn't he expelled them from Bolivia?

[Bacchus39]

5. if USAID did anything, they would be providing funds to construct the highway n/t

s

[Bacchus39]

6. road to pass through national park that encompasses Original Communal Lands

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2011/0822/Bolivia-s-president-accuses-US-of-sparking-protest

Residents of the TCOs say the road will harm their traditional livelihood of hunting and gathering and be detrimental to the biodiversity of the region. Some leaders from TIPNIS are particularly worried the road will facilitate colonization of the area by Bolivians from the country's western highlands and oil exploration by the Bolivian government in the area, a move the government has not discounted.

The march finds Morales, who often talks of protecting the environment, in a difficult situation. The road would greatly facilitate transport between eastern and western Bolivia, and gas from the TIPNIS would be a boon to Bolivia's economy, which relies heavily on extractive industries such as mining and gas.

At the same time, Bolivia's new constitution, which the Morales government pushed forward in 2009, requires that the government consult indigenous peoples regarding any activities that will take place on their land. This consultation has not yet taken place with the people of the TIPNIS, though the government has called for a meeting on several occasions.

Adolfo Moye, a leader from the TIPNIS, says that marchers will not speak with the government until construction on two branches of the highway that are closing in on the TIPNIS is halted. Also in question is the power of these meetings. The Bolivian government says they are not binding, while some indigenous groups think they should be.