YouSaid · the spoken record

Evo Morales Ayma

lines on the record: 286
first: 2007-09-24
most recent: 2019-09-24
sittings or episodes: 13
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“That work goes beyond commercial profit and focuses on promoting the values of cooperation, solidarity and complementarity. In its 10 years, ALBA-TCP has become a major player in Latin America and the world. Since March 2011, 150,000 people have died in Syria and 3 million people have fled as refugees to neighbouring countries. Bolivia agrees that the future and destiny of Syria must be determined by the Syrian people themselves in the full exercise of democracy, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. Bolivia condemns and rejects the interference by the United States of America in Iraq that triggered the current crisis in the country. The war unleashed in 2003 against Iraq destabilized the entire region. It was said that Iraq possessed large quantities of weapons of mass destruction.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“As Chair of the Group of 77 and China, I cannot fail to mention the important commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the Group of 77, held on 14 and 15 June in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77 and China adopted a declaration entitled “For a new world order for living well” (see A/68/948), which confirms the principles of unity, complementarity and solidarity and the building of a new world order that establishes a more just and democratic system for the benefit of our peoples. We commend the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) on completing 10 years of tireless work towards the integration of peoples.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We have again witnessed the cruelty and barbarity of the genocidal actions of the Government of Israel against the Palestinian civilian population. We have therefore denounced Israel for violating international humanitarian law and universal human rights. We demand an investigation of the crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip. The Plurinational State of Bolivia, like other Latin American countries, agrees on the profound need to reiterate the legitimacy of United Nations resolutions demanding the end of the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the construction of an independent State within the borders existing prior to 4 June 1967. That is why we again reiterate the need to recognize Palestine as a full-fledged Member of the United Nations.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The increase in the number of hungry people in the world is due, without doubt, to the financial crisis. If not for that, there would now be 413 million fewer hungry people in the world. But the eradication of hunger and poverty is unthinkable without changing the international financial architecture. The violence of war feeds the darkest interests, such as the geopolitical control of the great Powers and corporations that promote conflicts in order to ensure their imperial or neocolonial interests. Today, it is the economic interests of capital that promote neocolonial wars. With the expense required for war campaigns, humankind could overcome many of its problems, including the Ebola virus, tuberculosis, AIDS or dengue.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“We must profoundly change the exclusionary structures of financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. That should be part of the transformation of the world financial architecture. Those organizations cannot be governed only by developed countries, which, through clever financial strategies, blackmail and oppress developing countries, especially the poorest. That is what we call eradicating financial colonialism. In the world there still exists an offensive, abusive reality — the 1.3 billion poor people and more than 800 million who are chronically malnourished — as well as the gaps between the rich and the poor. That is due to an unequal distribution of income, but also to an unequal and discriminatory access to wealth, to the means and factors to live well and to enjoy basic services.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Water is life, and it cannot be an object of profit or commercialization. Likewise, to resolve serious social inequalities, basic services such as water, electricity, telecommunications and basic sanitation, as well as education and health, must be a human right. We have a pending agenda to eradicate poverty and hunger, but for that we must also fight the pitiless, inhumane forces of capital and the market, the omnipresent power of banks and usurers who profit from consumerism and hunger. The so-called vulture funds are an expression of that. They are agents of financial rapine who live off speculation, stealing from developing countries with impunity, taking the bread from the poor, extorting and defrauding with the help of the legal systems of capitalism. They caused the financial crisis and profited from it.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“An important issue to be promoted in the framework of the post-2015 agenda is the human right to water and the right of Mother Earth to enjoy water for regenerating and reproducing life. Three billion people today live in areas or regions where the demand for water exceeds its availability, and that reality will worsen as years pass. By 2030 the demand for water will have increased by 30 per cent. In 2050, four billion people will suffer from critical scarcity of water in the context of climate change. In Bolivia, in accordance with human right to water and with our Constitution, and thanks to the national programme known as My Water, we have already reached the Millennium Goals. We did so three years ahead of schedule. Declaring the human right to water means it cannot be privatized.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Each country has the right to decide on its priorities and strategies for development, but it is important that those strategies strengthen the environmental functions and the ecosystems of Mother Earth in the framework of complementarity and mutual support between productive systems, communities and nature. It is vital to strike a balance between the rights of Mother Earth, the right to development, the rights of indigenous peoples and social, economic and cultural rights, as well as the right of the poor to emerge from poverty. Complementarity and mutual support, not commercial incentives, are instruments to preserve Mother Earth. On this point we differ from the followers of the so- called green economy.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“The horizon of equality calls for the distribution of wealth and the economic and political empowerment of the poor, the excluded and the marginalized. It calls for strengthening communities and building societies with solidarity, not exclusive societies based on the accumulation of wealth and governed by money, covetousness and the avarice of the market. Together with the Group of 77 and China, I must state the fundamental importance of recovering the sovereignty of our countries and peoples over our natural resources. It is only by recovering control of our natural resources that we will be able to garner greater benefits for our peoples, in particular to eliminate poverty and to invest in economic diversification, industrialization and social programmes.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“What we propose to the world is living well, in harmony with Mother Earth, and the construction of a culture of life, complementarity, solidarity and peace. Respect for Mother Earth has been lost. Today she is being marketed and manipulated, causing grave danger to life. Now as at no other time, the premise that man believes himself to be the lord and master of nature is more true than ever. Humankind, encouraged by capitalism, has turned everything into a market, including genetic manipulation and the destruction of human beings. Human and natural life and their happiness should be the reason why any vision, tool or focus for development exists. No vision of development makes sense if it does not respect or strengthen life. Economic growth does not in itself lead to the realization of social rights and good living.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“Mother Earth and humanity are suffering, stricken by the environmental, climate, financial and food crises generated by an inhumane, predatory capitalism that turns human life and Mother Earth into merchandise. Today we have an historic opportunity to build a new, different world, and we must do so without delay. The post-2015 agenda must express that mandate that Mother Earth and humanity demand of us. We welcome the proposal of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals that incorporates the proposals of Bolivia and the peoples of the world to respect Mother Earth and the concept of harmony with nature. That is not a matter of a simple political statement. It is a commitment shared with the entire world to change our visions of development to a more comprehensive, holistic vision.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)
“A Government must be controlled by a President who has been democratically elected by the people, with the participation of society and for the well-being of the majority of the people. We welcome the fact that private property is respected. However, it is something else when economic policy and governing are considered in favour of the few, rather than of the many. With my little bit of experience, therefore, I call on all members to fight against the economic policies that cause great harm to humankind around the world. I reiterate that as long as imperialism and capitalism exist, the struggle will continue, the people will continue to rise up, but there will be no justice. Freeing ourselves from imperialism and capitalism will certainly ensure peace and social justice and dignity and sovereignty for our peoples.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“All of us possess sovereignty and dignity, whether we are small and backwards — “developing”, as they call us — or whatever our situation. What damages the political class? Sometimes it is arrogance, the abuse of power and corruption. As Presidents of Governments, it is our obligation to fight against such policies that cause so much harm to the political class. It is our obligation to change the politics. In my experience, politics is not about business or profits. It is about service, commitment and extending the greatest effort for one’s people. If anyone thinks that politics involves business or profit, they are wrong. Such President or Government will not go far. If a Government allows bankers, financiers or multinational corporations to govern, it is mistaken.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Therefore, if we are truly responsible for the well-being of humankind, if we are responsible for truth, justice and peace, then we must organize to fight back so that no president — from South America, the Middle East or anywhere else in the world — will ever again cause harm to life or to humankind. Like previous debates here — on the financial, climate, economic and food crises — the Assembly is now addressing the issue of interventionism. As long as imperialism and capitalism exist, peace, justice, liberty, dignity and sovereignty for the people of the world will never be possible. I am convinced of that, because I have a little experience. We should therefore contemplate a world free of oligarchies, monarchies and hierarchies, and then consider the sort of human order we would want for the world.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“As for prosecuting acts of international terrorism, the financing of terrorist groups and the arming of opposition forces — once I expelled the United States Ambassador to Bolivia, I had no regrets. We are better off now, politically and democratically. We are now ending our cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development, which had been plotting. We want and welcome cooperation, so long as it is unconditional and free of blackmail or preconditions involving Presidents or the privatization of natural resources and basic services. Imagine the damage inflicted on a country by an economic blockade. It is the best tool of genocide.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We congratulate him. In the end, however, it is a Nobel Peace Prize, rather than a Nobel war prize. What is the basis for a trial? It certainly includes crimes against humanity and the bombing of Libya. I would like to know who owned the oil in Libya beforehand? Who owns it now? Previously, at the least, the people of Libya benefited from that oil, but how is it being managed and used now? What happened in Iraq? I am convinced that behind any war or intervention, a plan is being devised on how to later seize the natural resources. That was our experience in Bolivia. However, we have recovered our natural resources democratically, without bullets but with votes, not with money but based on the awareness of the Bolivian people.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“If the Assembly is here to seriously discuss the well- being of humankind, perhaps my country can share with some who are present here the idea of seriously considering establishing a tribunal of the peoples, including major international organizations that defend human rights, to begin an investigation of the Obama Government. I was surprised by the words of United States President Obama at the start of his term. It struck me when he stated, “I was elected to end wars”. Those were his words, found in newspapers, on radio and on television. I said to myself, this fraternal President of the United States originates from a family that suffered from discrimination like me. We are going to agree and we will put an end to war. I was deeply struck by that. Now we are seeing the exact opposite. Perhaps it is due to the Nobel Peace Prize.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I do not expect it to be Bolivia, or South America. There are countries that have ratified all of the human rights treaties. That is where the Headquarters of the United Nations should be located. There is blackmail when it comes to visas. I had to wait for a visa in order to come here, and then it was for only four, five or six days — no more. What good is such a visa? One has to watch the clock and when to leave, because the visa will be taken from us. We are being threatened, intimidated and blackmailed with visas.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Furthermore, I wish to inform the Assembly that everyone knows that the United States harbours terrorists, criminals and the corrupt. They escape from Bolivian justice and arrive here. The United States Government is not assisting in the fight against corruption. What kind of an agreement could we then have in the fight against corruption? Beyond that, the United States accuses the Governments of other countries. It accuses Cuba, of promoting terrorism. How can Cuba do that? Perhaps it is due to such accusations that only 60 or 70 Presidents, of the more than 190, have come here. I feel that such policies scare off Presidents. Who will come next year to vote, when resolutions are never respected? That reason, and many others, should encourage us to consider changing the Headquarters of the United Nations.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I offer my solidarity with my friend Nicolás Maduro Moros, President of Venezuela. How can we be sure that a meeting of the United Nations here in New York is secure? Perhaps some of us do, but those of us who do not share the views of imperialism and capitalism feel completely insecure. I would just like to say, though not out of fear, that we should not be complicit in such an arrogant attitude to the peoples of the world. How can we genuinely believe in the United Nations if we do not respect resolutions — for example, those ending the economic blockade of Cuba. There are only two or three countries that do not vote to end it. Most of us welcome it and vote for the resolution every time. But if it is not implemented and not respected, then why are we here at the United Nations?”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I welcome the fact that the United Nations has acknowledged the decrease in drug trafficking in Bolivia, but it has not been certified by the Government of the United States. Who should we believe, the United States or the United Nations? I leave it up to the Assembly. I have felt somewhat insecure when it comes to visiting the United Nations in New York, which is why we should think seriously about changing the location of the Headquarters of the Organization. The Headquarters of the United Nations should be in the territory of a State that has ratified all the treaties adopted by the United Nations. As the Assembly is aware, the Government has never ratified the treaties on human rights or the rights of Mother Earth. They do not guarantee us visas or overflights.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“That is why I believe it is important at this event to consider such issues in depth. Another instrument of domination is the fight against drug trafficking. But I have to say that despite the efforts of the Bolivian people and Government, there are certain Powers that do not shoulder their responsibilities in combating the traffic in drugs, because the drug market is in the capitalist countries. Since we got rid of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and launched our own national policy — and thanks to some of our neighbours, such as Argentina, Brazil and Chile, to which I am grateful for their joint efforts — we have seen improvements and a better way of fighting drug trafficking than the way imposed by the DEA and the United States.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Another subject being debated is the colonization of space, as we have seen in recent years. Those who believe they are the masters of the world have told us that their power has no limits and that they can intervene wherever they feel like. Again, I wonder what the United Nations is for. What do we have treaties and conventions for? What use is multilateralism? Human multilateralism we welcome; inhuman interventionism will be combated by people all over the world. I believe that as a union leader and as someone from one of the most humiliated sectors in the history of Latin America, the indigenous peasant peoples. War is a business for capitalism. There can be no peace without justice; there can be no equality as long as the business of war has pride of place. It starts and wages wars for its businesses.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We know whose hands they are in, where they come from and who produces them. Democracies do not wage war. What we are seeing is that those who make the decisions about wars are the arms industry, the financial system and oil companies. Plutocracy has become a substitute for democracy. The Government of the rich and powerful decides the fate of the world. We are facing a new moment in the imperial geopolitical disposition — and I do not wish to revisit how Latin America and the Caribbean, like Africa and the Middle East, were at one time carved up by various imperial Powers, who were interested not in resolving issues of poverty, democracy and equality but rather in those countries’ natural resources — and now, once again, those Powers wish to divide it all up through military intervention and with military bases.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“We must ask ourselves who benefits from the wars. Who distributes the natural resources after an intervention? Whose hands do they end up in, once countries are bombed? Who is really governing in the United States, I wonder? Is it its citizens, or the companies that promote wars? From outside, at least — I am not an ambassador living in the United States — what we see is that those who finance political and election campaigns are bankers and big businessmen, and they are the ones setting policy. Those who govern cannot be mistaken or confused about the conflict in Syria. Naturally, we are against the use of chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction. But who possesses the greatest nuclear arsenal? Who invented chemical weapons? Who industrialized those weapons that end human lives? In my region, at least, things are perfectly clear.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Furthermore, it signs agreements yet refuses to sign some of the most important treaties in the world. It does not respect United Nations resolutions. The security of the empire and the fight against terrorism have become the biggest excuse and tool for unilateral military intervention. Terrorism cannot be combated through more military spending and interventions or the training of military forces. As far as I know, the way to fight terrorism is with social policies, not military bases; with religious tolerance, more democracy, more equality of justice and more education. What country is free from problems? Of course there are differences. The best thing to do is to provide means, even if not all our Governments have the same economic policies. Capitalism wants to emerge from its crisis through war and armed intervention.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I would like to ask the people of the United States: How is it possible, when there are so many people out of work, for their country’s Government and President to spend $700 billion on the military and espionage annually, when there are so many of our brothers in the United States who are homeless and jobless and without an education? One cannot understand how that country can spend so much money interfering with other countries while leaving its own unprovided for. They talk to us of human rights while torture is being carried out in the prisons of Guantánamo and on military bases in the Middle East, and while union and political leaders who do not share imperialist and capitalist views are also tortured. I would like to say to the United States that it must not believe it is master of the world. It is mistaken.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“How can they speak of democracy, when the spy services of the United States violate human rights and the privacy and security of other States while using private companies? It turns out that they spy not only on democratic Governments, but even on their own allies, their own citizens and the United Nations itself. Well, fine, let them spy on us anti-imperialist Presidents and Governments. But spying on the United Nations? Spying on their allies? I feel that there is a great deal of overweening arrogance towards humankind. That is why we continue to speak out. Not only do they spy, they also hatch coups d’état. What peace can we speak of when military spending sacrifices the human rights of our peoples?”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“One cannot listen to every single one of them, but I want to say that, while we are working to eliminate extreme poverty, we, the Heads of State and Government, are also working for peace with social justice. Nevertheless, a handful of Powers promote wars, armed conflict and military intervention without respecting even international organizations. We have heard here statements about freedom, democracy, peace, justice and security. As peoples who have been the subject of interventions and have been exploited, marginalized and robbed of our natural resources by the empires of the time, we wonder what democracy, what peace and what social justice some Presidents who come here are talking about. We witness Presidents and their retinues blocking airspace and not providing guarantees of our attendance to this forum, for example.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I want members to be aware that this request cannot and should not be interpreted as an act of hostility. On the contrary, it is a demonstration of Bolivia’s respect and confidence in the mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Members cannot imagine how much damage we have suffered, economically and geographically, or the damage that has been done to the people of Bolivia and to our past and future generations, by the 1879 invasion. Our grandparents continue to ask us when we are going to go back to the sea, because Bolivia was born with an outlet to the Pacific Ocean. So that everyone is aware: we are seeking a peaceful solution to this dispute. We have heard the various statements made over the past few days.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In June, he said that Chile would not cede to the Bolivian position while President Morales continued to belittle him. On 7 September 2013, he said that, naturally, they would respect the ruling from The Hague. When it came to the ruling from The Hague, they were a country that respected rulings. I simply wanted to state that to avoid conflict. Since its foundation as a plurinational State, Bolivia has been by nature a peaceful State. With all due respect, I would like to inform members that we have turned to international courts. We have requested the International Court of Justice to declare that the Republic of Chile has an obligation to effectively negotiate, in a timely fashion and in good faith, sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean in order to re-establish Bolivia’s past, present and future rights to the sea.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“On 11 November 2012, at the Ibero-American Summit held in Cadiz, Spain, the President of Chile said that Chile would demand that a valid treaty that was still in force — the treaty of 1904 — be respected, and that any conversation about the matter must be bilateral in nature: it did not belong in a multilateral forum such as that in which we are participating today. What did the President of Chile say on 2 February 2013? He said that the possibility of a gateway to the sea without sovereignty, north of Arica, will come to an end if Peru won at The Hague. Another contradiction: in June 2013, President Sebastián Piñera Echeñique said that Chile had the right to defend its territory, sea and sovereignty with strength and conviction and that Chile was a country that would never bend in the legitimate defence of its territory.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“But in January at the CELAC summit President Piñera Echeñique said that sovereignty could not be touched unless economic interests were at stake. On 22 September 2011, at the General Assembly President Piñera Echeñique said that there were no ongoing territorial issues between Chile and Bolivia (see A/66/PV.15). However, on 2 February 2013, in an interview with La Tercera, a Chilean newspaper, he recognized the following: Chile has offered Bolivia autonomy in a territorial enclave. In other words, he is trying to resolve the issue. But that proposal has never been made official. There is a fourth contradiction.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“What did the President of Chile say in September 2010 when he addressed the General Assembly here in New York (see A/65/PV.12)? He said that treaties were inviolable and they must not be touched. On 28 January 2013, during the summit of the Community of Latin America and the Caribbean States (CELAC) in Santiago, President Piñera Echeñique said that of course treaties could be perfected. First, he said they were untouchable, and then he said they could be perfected. That shows that this issue is on his mind and that it needs to be resolved. On 17 December 2012, Piñera Echeñique publicly stated that Chile would ensure respect not only for the treaties it had signed, but also its sovereignty, with all the strength in the world.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Besides local issues, there are also pending regional issues, such as the one between Bolivia and Chile on sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean. An invasion began on 14 February 1879, which on 23 March of the same year gave rise to a limited resistance. Who invaded us? It was the Chilean oligarchy of the time, along with British companies. We lost our access to the sea, and many meetings have been subsequently held on the issue. An unfair treaty was imposed on us, and it was not observed. I want the Assembly to be aware of the following. In a number of meetings with former Presidents and with the latest brotherly President of Chile, we have tried to reach an understanding. However, there has never been an official proposal to resolve the issue of the Bolivian people’s irrevocable right to return to the Pacific with sovereignty.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“But I am here at the request of the Bolivian people, learning daily about the needs, problems and demands of my people, the people of Bolivia. I would therefore also like to say that this joint work with the social movements, which are the organized representatives of the people, is going well. I would like the United Nations and the Secretary-General to know that we have issued a directive and are working on the patriotic agenda for 2025. What exactly is that agenda about? As Bolivia was founded in 1825, the year 2025 will be our bicentennial as a republic, while we are now a plurinational State. We are working with all social movements and authorities, be they local mayors or provincial Governments, to establish a medium- and long-term plan that will make it possible to guarantee a future for the generations to come.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“They invented this title business for the land at the mouth of the well. In addition, 82 per cent of the benefits went to transnationals, especially in mega-oilfields, and 18 per cent to Bolivians. It was looting, it was theft. But since we nationalized hydrocarbons, I must say that we have really begun to improve the economic situation and the social conditions in our country. Just one example: oil income in 2005, before I was President, was $300 million. This year, thanks to nationalization and the fight waged by social movements, oil sales will total more than $5 billion. Last year we almost reached $5 billion. That figure continues to grow with new investments, and today we have reached the stage of giving added value to those natural resources. As the Assembly is aware, I am not an expert in politics or in economic matters.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Those conditionalities involved our giving up our natural resources to transnational companies, so that Bolivia would privatize basic services. But basic services are a human right and cannot be private property. So when we freed ourselves politically and economically, we started to do better. One of the policies we adopted was to nationalize hydrocarbons — gas and oil. I want the Assembly to know, just to share a small experience, that previously State contracts with transnational oil companies stated that the bearer acquired the right to the land at the mouth of the well. When union leaders asked Governments why the gas and oil were not the property of Bolivians, they told us that as long as they were underground they belonged to the Bolivians, but once they were out of the ground that was no longer the case.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Investment in water is a blessing for life. It means minimizing disease, because potable water helps people avoid contracting diseases. I would like all here to know that we have been able to achieve this thanks to a State that lives in conditions of sovereignty and dignity. Why am I saying this? Because previously, politically we were subject to the American empire. The embassies of the United States decided who would be minister. Economically, we were subject to the International Monetary Fund. From the time we arrived, we have said “Enough!” to submitting to international organizations and to the United States embassy. Previously, for any loan, the International Monetary Fund set conditionalities, blackmailing the various Governments.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Coverage in terms of potable water has increased. For example, we created a programme entitled “My water (more investment for water)”. I must thank the Andean Development Corporation and the Inter-American Development Bank for their contributions. With their funding we put together “My water” I and II, and we are now on the third programme, with $300,000 per municipality in rural areas. That has made it possible for us to provide some municipalities with 100 per cent coverage in terms of potable water. I have just come from a major event in the department of Santa Cruz, where I visited several municipalities. In two of them, the mayors — who are not from the party in power but from other parties — told me that “My water” III will result in 100 per cent of the local population having drinking water. We have made advances in that area.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“Bolivia has 10 million inhabitants, so that means that 10 per cent of Bolivia’s inhabitants improved their economic status. The rate of undernutrition for children under the age of 5 has decreased even more than required by the related Millennium Development Goal. The literacy-rate goal for people between 15 and 24 years of age was met, and UNESCO declared Bolivia a country free of illiteracy thanks to the cooperation of Cuba and Venezuela, which have been working with us since 2006-2007. The Goal on coverage in terms of maternal health has been reached, and maternal and child mortality has decreased. Thanks to that economic growth we have been able to create vouchers for pregnant women and for children under 2 years of age, which has made possible a decrease in maternal and child mortality.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“In that time — despite the economic and financial crises in some so-called developed, industrialized and, I would even say, even exaggeratedly industrialized countries, because some Powers industrialize simply to put an end to life — we in Bolivia have an economic growth rate of 4.8 per cent, on average. Previously it was just over 2 per cent under the economic policies of the free market and neoliberalism. This year the economic growth rate is estimated at 6 per cent, at least, so we are doing well. I would like to point out that thanks to that economic growth, in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) we have reduced poverty; we have met the MDG of reducing poverty and extreme poverty. United Nations data for 2011 indicates that that year 1 million Bolivian men and women entered the middle class.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“I wish to convey my greetings to the Secretary-General and all the Presidents, Heads of State, delegations and international organizations from across the world. I convey also my special greetings to those attending this annual general debate of the General Assembly. We are here once again, as usual, to share experiences relating to leadership and to work for the sake of life, humanity, equality and social justice. But we are also here to express our profound differences as concerns life, peace and democracy. Over the past few days I have been listening to the statements made by certain Powers, which leave a lot to be desired in terms of liberty, equality, dignity and sovereignty. Thanks to the awareness of the Bolivian people, I have now held the presidency for almost eight years.”
2013-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 68 (2013)
“There will be social peace only when we change such political and economic policies and put an end to military bases and interventionism. My respect goes to those who resist military intervention by the Powers, which is not a solution. That is something we have learned, and that is why we hope that these debates will serve to help us think about life and humanity.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“As always, I would like to thank the President for these debates at the United Nations. We are always thinking about new generations and about the good of humankind, although sometimes sectoral interests intrude — but as representatives who come here from time to time, we have an obligation to think about how to shoulder our responsibilities, and that means, as someone said just now, bringing an end to the powers that be. This is not a time when we can continue to praise those powers; we are living in a time when peoples must be freed and where we must constantly seek economic and social equality for all human beings, a time to bring dignity to every citizen. I would like to commend those statements that questioned interventionism, military bases and troops.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“I would like to say that according to the Mayan calendar, 21 December marks the end of the non-time and the beginning of time. It is the end of the macha — the darkness — and the beginning of the pacha — communitarianism; it is the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood; it is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism. As scientists know very well, 21 December this year marks the end of the era of anthropocentrism and the beginning of biocentrism. It is the end of hatred and the beginning of love, the end of lies and the beginning of truth, the end of sadness and the beginning of joy, it is the end of division and the beginning of unity. This is a theme to be developed, and that is why we invite all those here, those who are betting on humankind, to share their experiences for the good of humankind.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“First, the global crisis of sapitalism; second, the crisis of civilization — world Government, capitalism, socialism, community and the culture of life; third, the crisis of climate — human beings’ relationship to nature; fourth, the energy of community and change; fifth, awareness of Mother Earth; sixth, recovering ancestral practices and customs and the natural cosmic calendar; seventh, living the right way as a solution to the global crisis — because once again we affirm that we cannot live better by plundering natural resources, and that is a profound debate that we should have with the whole world; eighth, food sovereignty and security through food sovereignty; ninth, integration — through brotherhood, community, economy, complementarity, the right to communication, and community learning for life; the new human being with an integrated identity; complementarity; self-knowledge, awakening and, of course, health, which is so important.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“Dealing as we are with the problems we have in Bolivia and the world with climate issues, I would like to take this opportunity to convey an invitation to an international meeting on 21 December to greet a new era, an invitation to the celebration of the end of the cycle of non-time and the beginning of a new cycle of equilibrium and harmony for Mother Earth. It would take too long here to go into the knowledge of our indigenous brothers in Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia and Ecuador, but basically we are issuing this invitation to a virtual — and actual — debate on the following topics.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“While we still have some problems in Bolivia with electricity, we will continue to work to ensure that that basic service is a human right as well. I am here to share our brief experience with Governments, presidents, ambassadors and prime ministers. Where there is the will to change, there will be change. It depends to a large extent on willingness, constant efforts to educate our people and transparent work. Of course, we still have so many demands to meet — sometimes, too, exaggerated demands from a particular social sector or region — but regardless of our interests or claims, our homeland and humankind as a whole come first.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)
“But we have managed to change our national economy. That is why I say to countries whose natural resources, including oil and gas, are still in private hands that my recommendation is for them to nationalize and recover their natural resources. Natural resources cannot belong to transnational corporations; they belong to the peoples of the world, under State administration. I would also like to say that there have been social changes. Through a constituent assembly, we have guaranteed basic services as a human right. Consequently, they cannot be in private hands. It is a task for the State. Water, electricity and communications — we have nationalized them and turned them into human rights. It is very important that those basic services be human rights.”
2012-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 67 (2012)