Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-15-Speech-1-043"
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"en.20060515.13.1-043"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, through the Members of this Parliament, I would like to send a special, warm and brotherly greeting to all of the people of Europe.
Also thanks to cooperation from certain Latin American countries, we are carrying out campaigns to help the poorest families with regard to health. By means of eye operations, in less than two months we have cured 8 000 people free of charge.
These are some of the social problems that we are facing in my country. This political movement, therefore, the Movement for Socialism, originally called the Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples, created by the Original Indigenous Farmers Movement, it has not been created by a group of political experts, or professionals or intellectuals, but it was born to fight injustice, to fight for economic and social demands, in 1995 in particular, to change our Bolivia, to put an end to discrimination, and in order to change those policies that have historically been geared towards the extermination of the original indigenous people in our country and our continent.
We indigenous peoples are also human beings, we have the same rights, the same duties and we want to change. And I am happy to say that this political movement has brought me to the Presidency. I would like you to know that I did not unfortunately have the opportunity to study at university; the greatest asset that I and our movement have is honesty.
I felt great respect and admiration for the President when he mentioned our ancestors’ cosmic law, the
which is the law of the original indigenous peoples: not to steal, not to be weak, not to lie. That principle of a cosmic law has brought us this far and it is my duty to apply our ancestors’ rule in order to change our history.
I am sure that you have questions about many structural issues, many social issues. So far we have clearly decided to recover our natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable resources; natural resources that make it possible to resolve the social and economic problems of my country.
I would like to mention the fight to defend the coca leaf, the fight for water, to prevent any privatisation of water resources, and the fight for hydrocarbons, which were also the fights of our ancestors, of indigenous leaders such as Tupac Amaru, Tupac Katari and Bartolina Sisa: it was the fight for territory. Bolivia has so much wealth, and yet so much poverty. We are not talking about distributing poverty, but rather about redistributing wealth and, in order to redistribute wealth, we have the obligation to recover it, through nationalisation.
It is true that oil and natural resources were nationalised twice during the last millennium. And now, in this new millennium, my government and the Bolivian people must nationalise again, together with many social sectors, from both the countryside and from the city.
I want you to understand that nothing will be expropriated and nobody will be expelled. I would like to be very frank and speak to you with the greatest of respect. Our families come to Europe because of a need, because of a lack of work, and many are being expelled. Historically, my country, my region, and indeed the whole of America, which used to be called Abya Ayala, has never expelled anybody. And with this nationalisation we are not going to expel anybody either.
I understand perfectly well that they must recover their investment and they have the right to profits, but they cannot be owners of the hydrocarbons, and nor can they control them. The Bolivian State will be in control at the wellheads and inspection centres. Any company that has invested in the country has every right to recover their investment and has the right to make profits, but not to control, and they will therefore be partners and not owners of our natural resources.
I am extremely pleased and happy to have been invited to take part in this hugely significant meeting of two continents: America and Europe. I am honoured, pleased and proud to be here with you and I have come accepting an invitation not just to speak to you, but also to listen to you.
I very much regret that certain sections of the media wish to bring us into conflict with regions, with continents, with countries, with companies. We belong to a culture of solidarity, a culture of reciprocity and it is therefore important to seek solutions jointly. It is true that we need cooperation in this process of change in Bolivia, but I am also bringing you proposals to invite you to resolve the problems together, whether they be America’s or Europe’s problems.
I understand that immigration is a problem for the Europeans. As a result of a lack of work, many people are abandoning America and Bolivia and coming to Europe.
The only way to resolve this problem is to create sources of work in Bolivia, to guarantee markets for small-scale producers, for micro-businesspeople, for cooperatives, for associations, for communal companies. That will surely put an end to the mass invasion of this continent by Bolivians.
The industrialisation of natural resources is important. You know that historically we have been subjected to the constant plundering of our natural resources. And while at certain times the State has controlled the natural resources, whether oil or minerals, it has not been able to carry out industrialisation, to give added value to these natural resources. Following nationalisation, our task will be to industrialise, together with our partners, whether they be States or companies. There will be no exclusion or marginalisation.
We are convinced that the industrialisation of our natural resources will put an end to the mass abandonment of my country towards other countries. Before it was the United States or Argentina, but now I very much regret that many of our brothers and sisters are coming to Europe to seek sources of work.
There is a central issue that is a problem for you and also a problem for us: cocaine and drug-trafficking. I would like to tell you that we original indigenous people do not have a culture of cocaine. We do not have a culture of drug-trafficking. Cocaine is a new problem that has unfortunately been imported. There must be a real and effective fight against drug-trafficking. The fight against drug-trafficking cannot be an instrument for domination, for recolonisation or submission. I regret that certain countries in America use the issue of drug-trafficking as an instrument for submission and subordination. I believe that we all have a responsibility to combat drug-trafficking effectively and genuinely.
I would also like to say that coca is not cocaine. I have looked closely at the history of coca in Europe. European countries were the first to industrialise the coca leaf. We are talking about the 19th century. Only recently have Latin America and the United States begun to industrialise it. And the coca leaf cannot be legal for Coca-Cola, but illegal for the Andean region, for the indigenous peoples.
I believe that it is important to revalue the coca leaf, but I would like to say that, while during my government there will never be free cultivation of coca, there will never be zero coca either. I am pleased to say that we are discussing with our brother producers of coca leaf how we can rationalise its production, and I would like to reassure you that we are talking about a small area of coca growing per family: 40 metres by 40 metres. We are perfectly well aware that a proportion of the coca leaf is diverted towards an illegal market and we do not find that acceptable.
Policies of eradication with financial compensation and then eradication by military force have left much to be desired in terms of human rights and the only way to put an end to that confrontation is for coca production to be controlled by the farmers’ movement itself, to be rationalised and in that way to make the fight against drug-trafficking effective. The production of that small quota, of 40 x 40 metres — many people looking into this must have read about the so-called ‘cato’; the cato is not a question of hectares, it is 40 x 40 metres— must be controlled and its production used for legal consumption: what could be better than to industrialise for purposes that benefit Humanity.
The fight against drug-trafficking cannot end with that control, however, but it is also important to control the forerunners, the chemical agents. And what better way is there than, together with you, to control banking secrecy. Because the real drug-trafficker is not the person who is currently in prison in Bolivia, but — we have investigated this over a short space of time — the person who is handling thousands of millions of dollars. They are not walking around or travelling on buses or lorries carrying piles of dollars. They use private banks. What could be better than to control private banking, the banks, including State banks, in order to put an end to this aspect of the drug-trafficking business.
We original indigenous farming peoples of America, and of Bolivia in particular, belong to a culture of dialogue, a culture of life, a culture of balance, justice and equality.
I would like to take this opportunity, through you, to tell all of the nations of Europe of my respect and admiration for the European Union. We in Bolivia also very much want the Andeans, the Latin Americans, the South Americans, to unite. That will be our responsibility. In this process it will surely require dialogue and patience in order to bring our countries together.
I say this because we in Bolivia have decided to remodel Bolivia, to put an end to economic models that have not resolved the social problems, in order to change that colonial State. With the greatest of respect, I would also like to say that what we have at the moment is a colonial State. But we are not proposing an armed fight or change. I very much regret the fact that there are armed conflicts in certain countries neighbouring Bolivia. Thanks to this political movement, which has emerged from the historically most scorned and hated sector, the sector that has suffered most discrimination: the original indigenous people. Why am I talking about the original indigenous people? The last census in 2001 showed that 62.2% of the country was made up of indigenous people. I would say that we original indigenous people make up more than 70% or almost 80%. Because, when Bolivia was founded in 1825, 90% of the population was made up of indigenous peoples but just 10% founded Bolivia. Nevertheless, that 90% took part in the fight for independence and now, democratically and peacefully, by remodelling Bolivia, we want to change and we want to carry out a democratic, cultural and peaceful revolution, preventing any confrontation. I believe that that will lead to a genuine change, which makes it possible to live in peace with social justice.
I perfectly understand the countries and many businesspeople who want legal security. We are all fighting for legal security, but to that end it is important that we have social security, that we have health, education, housing, employment. That will happen when we recover our natural resources and when they benefit the whole of the Bolivian population. That is the transformation we want to see in the economic and political spheres.
I am extremely happy with the support we are receiving from the Secretary-General of the United Nations. On the occasion of this Summit of Heads of State, of Presidents of Europe, of Latin America and of the Caribbean, I have been invited to a short meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who has promised me his full support for the constitutional assembly, both in terms of advice and in economic terms, in order to guarantee the in-depth democratic transformation of my country.
I would like you, with your great experience, to be involved in this profound change. I am convinced that Europe is the symbol of democracy, and that it defends democracy and human rights. And on the subject of human rights, I would like in particular to ask you to help us defend them in Bolivia. And defending human rights in Bolivia means creating sources of work, health and education, and recovering our natural resources.
I would like to say to you, with the greatest of respect, that there were certain governments in the past, during the dictatorships, that massacred the people. You are perfectly aware of Bolivia’s history. But democratic governments too, in order to defend interests other than Bolivia’s interests, massacred Bolivia and some of them escaped to the United States. Through the Bolivian judicial system, we have called for the extradition of those people who humiliated Bolivia and I would like to ask for your support in order to ensure that those people who have done so much to harm the human and economic rights of the Bolivian people are brought before Bolivian justice, including Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín, who killed many people in my country and we want them to face the Bolivian judicial system.
In this process of change, we are not just seeking political interaction, and understanding amongst countries, but also integration, by providing my country with a road structure. Bolivia, the heart of South America, has no access to the sea as a result of an historical injustice. My government can resolve this road structure problem with all of our neighbouring countries. We only have a section with Peru, but we do not have a hard road with Chile, or with Argentina via Potosí, or via Tarija, or via Brazil. I have great affection and respect for my friend the President of Brazil. It is not true that there is conflict between us, as some sections of the media would have you believe. We have a strategic alliance with the government of Brazil. I see Lula, a former trade union leader, as an older brother who gives me real guidance. I would also like some guidance from you here in Europe. I told you a moment ago that we are not exclusive, but rather inclusive. I want to learn from you, but essentially I want to learn how to seek solutions within a context of balance, justice and equality.
That is my great wish and that is what we are fighting for. We in our government, a popular and indigenous government, now have the opportunity, with the support of many intellectual sectors and even business sectors in Bolivia — the middle class. My experience to date has been of certain of my fellow citizens saying two things to me: ‘I am not indigenous, but now I am an indigenist’. They say: ‘the governments used to make us cry with depression, now our governments make us cry with emotion, with dignity, a sense of sovereignty, respect amongst us and above all a sense that we are recovering our natural resources’.
As the President of the European Parliament said, I come from a very humble family, from the Aymara nation. Historically we have been excluded, but we do not exclude anybody. Historically we have been enslaved, but we have never enslaved anybody else’s family; we are inclusive, we fight for unity while respecting the diversity of other peoples and when, thanks to the conscience of my people, we won the Presidency as indigenous people, it was not through a sense of revenge, but through our peoples’ sense of hope.
I would therefore like to say to you, honourable Members of the European Parliament, that, through you, I would like to maintain a strategic alliance in favour of life, in favour of humanity. The way of life of the indigenous people does not involve exclusion or marginalisation, but rather — I would insist — it is solidarity, reciprocity, and not just amongst human beings, but it is also harmony with mother earth. We are extremely worried that the western model of industrialisation is affecting planet Earth, the mother earth: the
. If we do not revise this form of industrialisation, surely within a short space of time, not just you, or us, but everybody, is going to have a problem of life. I believe that it is important to take up initiatives and proposals that come from the people in order to defend and save Humanity, and that will be done essentially by respecting the mother earth, living in harmony with her.
These are important contributions that we can make, on the basis of our way of life. Based on our native organisations, whether they be unions, communities, councils of the elderly, those authorities that hold continuous debates and propose solutions. I have learnt that it is not a question of imposing programmes or policies, but of taking up these proposals and programmes for the good of humanity.
It is also the case that, in this process of change, how to participate in Bolivia is an important issue, and does not mean either subordination or submission — some have described us as ‘puppets’ — but rather we must share our principles and our experiences, in a horizontal fashion. We hope that this brief visit to the European Parliament can serve a purpose. We no longer want to be a beggar State.
Bolivian Governments have generally looked outside of the country to seek aid, they begged for the country’s General Budget. We want to put an end to that. I am sure that by increasing export volumes and by improving prices — a rational price, not blackmailing or imposing prices — and by recovering our natural resources, we will put an end to that beggar State. I very much regret that we have a beggar State and together with you, by reviewing our history, we would like now in this new millennium to resolve those social and cultural problems.
On behalf of the Bolivian people, particularly on behalf of the original indigenous movement, I would like to say that we want strategic allies in our defence of life. We want to put an end to that hate, that racism, that contempt. We are from an inclusive culture, not an exclusive one, despite the fact that we have been subjected to exclusion, and when I heard that the European Parliament had invited me here, I genuinely felt very happy and very proud to come. I want you too to feel proud of the original indigenous peoples, who defend life.
It is an honour for me, and a new experience, although we are always nervous at the outset — forgive me — but I would like to say, from the heart and with the greatest of respect, that I would like your support in our work of saving the life and improving the social and cultural situation of my country.
Thank you very much.
The absence of the State in our indigenous farming communities has left much to be desired and we therefore want to resolve the social problems, the cultural problems, the economic problems and the structural problems of my country.
With regard to health, there are farming communities with no resources for resolving health problems; traditional medicine is not recognised and there is no policy for recovering it.
We recognise that some progress has been made through the participation of UNESCO. The issue of education has been abandoned. You may be interested to know that my mother – may she rest in peace –was illiterate and my father could hardly write; he was also illiterate. My parents had no documentation. During our short time in government, therefore, during the almost 110 days of the Presidency, we have begun to work on literacy, thanks to unconditional cooperation from certain Latin American, European and Asian countries. At the end of this month nearly 2 000 people will have completed their literacy studies. We want to eradicate illiteracy in my country.
With regard to the issue of documentation, we are making progress, also thanks to solidarity from other countries. So far we are told that almost 50 000 people have been provided with documents free of charge (indigenous farming families; particularly women) thanks to international cooperation. And in terms of documentation, there are families that have been entirely abandoned; they have no documents and they therefore do not have certain rights as citizens. This is an issue of great concern in my country.
I know that here in Europe and in certain continents, man’s best friend, the dog, has a passport in order to be able to travel from one country to another. Back in my country some of us do not have any documentation at all — no identity cards and no birth certificates — to enable us to take part in elections. We are therefore going to continue with our campaign for identification: in less than two months we have provided almost 50 000 new documents free of charge and we are going to go on to provide one or two million people with documents free of charge."@en1
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"(The House stood and applauded the President of the Republic of Bolivia)"1
"ama sua, ama Hulla, ama quella"1
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