President Evo Morales Thinks Bolivia Is Better Off Without America
President of Bolivia, Evo Morales has increased his anti-American rhetoric since his re-election this month.
According to The Guardian, Evo Morales claimed victory in Bolivia’s presidential election after an exit poll and a quick count suggested he had won a third term.
Morales is the South American country’s first indigenous President. Four other candidates were vying for Bolivia’s presidency in Presidential elections, held on October 12.
CNN has reported that his election campaign was centered on the rapid economic growth that Bolivia has experienced since Morales was first elected in 2006; a phenomenon that some analysts have called an economic miracle. His election slogan was, “With Evo, we’re doing well.”
The slogan does seem to have a ring of truth to it. Since Morales took office, the country has seen economic growth while many of its neighbors have struggled. Last year the GDP grew 6.5 percent, according to government statistics.
Morales enjoys widespread popular support at home but has run afoul of some U.S. officials with his outspoken criticisms of capitalism and U.S. drug policies.
When he first ran for office, he declared himself a nightmare for the United States.
The Inquisitr reported that Morales threatened to close the U.S. embassy in his country after his plane was rerouted over Europe last year.
Now at the beginning of his third term, Evo Morales has upped the ante on his stance against the United States.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, he declared that he has no regret with his decision to sever diplomatic ties with America.
“I have no regrets – in fact, I am pleased to have expelled the U.S. ambassador, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and to have closed the U.S. military base in Bolivia. Now, without a U.S. ambassador, there is less conspiracy, and more political stability and social stability. Without the International Monetary Fund, we are better off economically.”
Morales also expressed his opposition to the eradication and abolition of the coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine.
“It [drug trafficking] must be fought – we are convinced of that – and we are doing so more effectively and more wisely. When the United States was in control of counternarcotics, the U.S. governments used drug trafficking for purely geopolitical purposes…. The U.S. uses drug trafficking and terrorism for political control…. We have nationalised the fight against drug trafficking.”
Going into his third term, Evo Morales is intent on proving that Bolivia can indeed do without the U.S.
[Image via Al Jazeera]