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I Never Wore A Tie Voluntarily, Even Though I Was Forced To Wear One For Photos When I Was Young And For Official Events At School. I Used To Wrap My Tie In A Newspaper, And Whenever The Teacher Checked I Would Quickly Put It On Again. I'm Not Used To It. Most Bolivians Don't Wear Ties.

-Evo Morales

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I Never Wore A

Evo Morales

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I Never Wore A Tie Voluntarily, Even Though I Was Forced To Wear One For Photos When I Was Young And For Official Events At School. I Used To Wrap My Tie In A Newspaper, And Whenever The Teacher Checked I Would Quickly Put It On Again. I'm Not Used To It. Most Bolivians Don't Wear Ties.

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More From Evo Morales

To Talk Only About National Security, National Defense, Means To Be Selfish, Ambitious. It Is Discrimination, Isolation. "it Is Just Me. What Do I Care About Others?"

The Way I See It, It's Impossible To Change Things Without Encountering Resistance.

The Peoples Of The Andes Believe In The Concept Of 'living Well' Instead Of Wanting To 'live Better' By Consuming More, Regardless Of The Cost To Our Neighbors And Our Environment.

The Chicken That We Eat Is Chock-full Of Feminine Hormones. So, When Men Eat These Chickens, They Deviate From Themselves As Men.

Why Communitarian Socialism? Now Not Only Do We Have The Pursuit Of Happiness For Man, As A Government, As A Program Or As Our Principles. But As Well To Live In Harmony With Mother Earth.

Pursuit Of Happiness

In Bolivia, The Middle Class, Intellectuals And The Self-employed Are Proud Of Their Indian Roots. Unfortunately, Some Oligarchic Groups Continue To Treat Us As Being Inferior.

Some Take Advantage Of Natural Resources To Put The Capital In The Hands Of The Few, While Some Use These Natural Resources To Benefit The Majority, As We Do In Bolivia.

Unfortunately, In This Obama Government, We Have Charges Of Drug Trafficking And Terrorism. For Evo, It's Drug Trafficking. For Hugo, It's Terrorism. Evo Morales, Drug Trafficking. Hugo Chavez, Terrorism.

Lithium Is Like A Beautiful Lady, Very Much Sought And Pursued, Especially In Bolivia. There Is Data Indicating Bolivia Has The Largest Reserves Of Lithium In The World.

If Governments Do Not Ensure That, The Peoples Through Their Own Efforts Will Ensure These Changes, What We Call Communitarian Socialism.

There Are Countries That Send Us Garbage. There Are Countries That Send Us Their Outdated Technology As Their Cooperation. With Fidel [castro] It Is Totally Different. Fidel Is The First And The Best One To Stand For Peace In The World Denouncing The Interventionist Policies Of The U.s.

The Capitalist System Only Allows Us To Heap Up Waste. I Would Like To Propose That The Trillions Of Money Earmarked For War Should Be Channeled To Make Good The Damage To The Environment, To Make Reparations To The Earth.

Dialogue Is The Basis Of Indian Culture, And We Don't Want To Make Any Enemies. Political And Ideological Adversaries, Perhaps, But Not Enemies.

Bolivia's Majority Indian Population Was Always Excluded, Politically Oppressed And Culturally Alienated. Our National Wealth, Our Raw Materials, Was Plundered. Indios Were Once Treated Like Animals Here. In The 1930s And 40s, They Were Sprayed With Ddt To Kill The Vermin On Their Skin And In Their Hair Whenever They Came Into The City.

There Was No Private Property In The Past. Everything Was Communal Property. In The Indian Community Where I Was Born, Everything Belonged To The Community. This Way Of Life Is More Equitable.

Bolivia Is A Majority Indigenous Nation, But That Majority Has Always Been Excluded.

The Fight Against Drug Trafficking Is A False Pretext For The United States To Install Military Bases.

Now Goverments Are A Different Thing. Presidents Who Do Not Want Me. As I Said, An African-american Discriminates Against An Indigenous Bolivian. Well, They Have Their Reasons, But Sooner Or Later We Will All Be Judged.

African American

We Have Launched An International Campaign To Legalize Coca Leaves, And We Want The United Nations To Remove Coca From Its List Of Toxic Substances. Scientists Proved Long Ago That Coca Leaves Are Not Toxic.

We Want To Govern With Our Indigenous Ancestors' Models: That Means A Different Concept Of Participation, Community Work And Honesty.

I Am Catholic. But I Am Opposed To A Monopoly When It Comes To Faith.

I Am Quite An Admirer Of Fidel [castro]. For Me, Fidel Is The First And The Best Man In Solidarity With The Peoples Of The World. Fidel Shares Not Just What He Does Not Need, But Every Little Thing He Has. That Is Called Solidarity.

Almost Everyone Is Bald. And Thats Because Of What They Eat.

Sooner Or Later, We Will Have To Recognise That The Earth Has Rights, Too, To Live Without Pollution. What Mankind Must Know Is That Human Beings Cannot Live Without Mother Earth, But The Planet Can Live Without Humans.

Capitalism Is The Worst Enemy Of Humanity.

When The United States Was In Control Of Counternarcotics, The Us Governments Used Drug Trafficking For Purely Geopolitical Purposes .... The Us Uses Drug Trafficking And Terrorism For Political Control .... We Have Nationalised The Fight Against Drug Trafficking.

We Indians Are Latin America's Moral Reserve. We Act According To A Universal Law That Consists Of Three Basic Principles: Do Not Steal, Do Not Lie And Do Not Be Idle.

We Stand For Global Security And So We Take Care Of Everyone's Life.

It Is A Democratic Uprising. I'd Say A Democratic Revolution Against Imperialism And Against Capitalism. So The Agreements Between Us, More Than That, Any Cooperation Means Unconditional Credit, While The Us And Some Capitalist Countries Want To Help Us Under Conditions, Under Blackmail.

Capitalism Is Destroying Mother Earth, And To Destroy Mother Earth Is To Destroy Humanity.

For Me, Being Leftist Means Fighting Against Injustice And Inequality But, Most Of All, We Want To Live Well.

We Can Not Have Equilibrium In This World With The Current Inequality And Destruction Of Mother Earth. Capitalism Is What Is Causing This Problem And It Needs To End.

I Don't Accept Armed Struggle. Maybe It Was The Way In The '50s And '60s, But We Want A Democratic Revolution.

I Have A Lot Of Trouble Understanding All The Detail Of Finance And Administration - But If You Combine Intellectual And Professional Capacity With A Social Conscience, You Can Change Things: Countries, Structures, Economic Models, Colonial States.

Economic Models

Bolivia Historically Made And Still Makes A Living From Natural Resources. Before It Was Tin, But Also Silver, Gold, And Other Minerals Were Plundered By Many Foreign Countries. Europe After The United States.

We Can Pay The Ecological Debt By Changing Economic Models, And By Giving Up Luxury Consumption, Setting Aside Selfishness And Individualism, And Thinking About The People And The Planet Earth.

I'm Just The Democratic Voice Of Bolivia.

In Bolivia There Are Catholic, Evangelical, Methodist, Baptist Churches, And So On. In Bolivia There Are Indigenous Religious Beliefs Like The Rite Of Pachamama Mother Earth, Which Shows Us That Mother Earth Is Our Life, We Are Born Out Of The Earth We Live On The Earth And Return To The Earth.

70 To 80 Percent Of Country Economy Is Controlled By The Bolivian State, And The Other Percentage By The Private Sector. We Admit That It's Legal, Constitutional, That The Private Sector Is Entitled To Its Own Economy, But To Ensure These Profound Changes That Clearly This Government Is Promoting, Including Profound Changes In The Food Industry, What We Are Doing Is An Important Step.

We Are Going Forward With The Idea Of A Multicultural , A Multinational State, Trying To Live In Unity, At The Same Time Respecting Our Diversity...but We Need To All Come Together So We Can Live United.

From My Standpoint, Coca Should Be Neither Destroyed Nor Completely Legalized. Farming Should Be Controlled By The State And By The Coca Farmers' Unions.

Secret Bank Accounts Are For Laundering Dirty Money. Heads Of State At The Un Should Put An End Them. That Would Be The Best Way Of Tracking Down The Drug Traffickers.

There Are Social Democrats And Others Who Are Marching More In The Direction Of Equality, Whether You Call Them Socialists Or Communists... Capitalism Has Only Hurt Latin America.

I Want To Stress That At No Time Bolivia Acts Untimely Or Irresponsibly.

If We Want To Save Our Planet Earth, We Have A Duty To Put An End To The Capitalist System.

With Bolivia, I Had Hope That A Discriminated African-american, With Another Discriminated Indigenous Peasant Leader, I Hoped That Together We Could Work For Justice And Equality. Not Only For Just Two Countries, Bolivia And Usa, But For Equality Around The World.

We Welcome Private Investment, But Any Company Or National Firm Will Be A Partner Of A Venture Where The Result Will Go Mainly To The Bolivian People. Of Course, Any Investor Is Entitled To Recover Their Investment And Take Profits. But Be Assured That These New Functions With Our Partners Will Also Be Reinvested In Our Country For The Benefit Of The Bolivian People.

Globalization Creates Economic Policies Where The Transnationals Lord Over Us, And The Result Is Misery And Unemployment.

Bolivia Also Depends Not Only On Tin And Other Minerals, But Also Depends On The Gas And Oil. A Rational Extraction Should Be Made, Taking Care Of The Environment. We Should Give Added Value To This Natural Resource, And Generate Revenue To Fight Poverty With More Resources, That Come From Natural Resources.

Fortunately, In Bolivia, We Have Begun To Liberate Ourselves Economically. If We Do Not Accompany Social And Cultural Liberation With Economic Liberalization, The Country Will Continue To Be Subjugated.

The New Republic Should Be Based On Diversity, Respect And Equal Rights For All.

If Socialism Means That We Live Well, That There Is Equality And Justice, And That We Have No Social And Economic Problems, Then I Welcome It.

The Fight Against Capitalism Has Many Aspects, Particularly The Distinctive Economic Models That Concentrate The Capital In Few Hands.

Economic Models

Imagine What Our Planet Would Look Like With An Increase In Temperature Of Two Degrees Or Four Degrees, Given That At 0.8 Degrees We Already Have Serious Problems In The World.

Historically, Foreign Powers Have Always Been The Ones To Keep Latin Nations Divided.

This Is A Coca Leaf. This Is Not Cocaine. This Represents The Culture Of Indigenous People Of The Andean Region.

The 21st Of December Marks The End Of The Time And The Beginning Of No-time

Some Countries Of Europe Have To Free Themselves From The Us Empire. They Are Not Going To Frighten Us Because We Are A People With Dignity And Sovereignty.

In Latin America, In The Past, It Was Almost Impossible To Guarantee Democracy. There Were Military Dictatorships, And Nowadays There Are Not So Many Military Dictatorships. Although We Have A Dictator In Honduras, As A Result Of A Coup, Now As A President, He Is Almost The Only One I Would Say. But Again Led Or Managed, Gestated By The U.s. Government.

Sooner Or Later We Will Reach A Point Where Communitarian Socialism Turns Global Because Capitalism Is Not Even The Solution To Capitalism Itself.

Sooner Or Later

Capitalism Has Only Hurt Latin America.

All Of Africa's Resources Should Be Declared Resources Of The State And Managed By The Nation. Our Experience In Bolivia Shows That When You Take Control Of Natural Resources For The People Of The Town And Village, Major World Change Is Possible.

I'm Still Convinced. We All Fight For Freedom, But The Foundation Of Freedom Is Equality And Justice. And We Are All On The Road.

Playing Sports Has Always Been My Greatest Pleasure. I Don't Smoke, I Hardly Drink Alcohol. Sports Helped Get Me Into The Presidential Palace. My First Position In The Union Was That Of Sports Secretary.

Globalization And The Neoliberal Economic Model Have Already Been Rejected In Latin America; It Simply Hasn't Been A Solution For Our People. At The Same Time, Latin Countries Like Venezuela And Argentina Are Anti-imperialist And Anti-globalization, And Yet Their Economies Are Growing Again.

Economic Models

Chile Needs Bolivian Natural Resources And Bolivia Needs Access To The Sea. Under Those Circumstances, It Must Be Possible To Find A Solution In The Interest Of Both Countries.

We Nationalize Hydrocarbons, So Now The Economy Is Improving And The Fight Against Poverty Is Also Improving In Bolivia.

I Have A Lot Of Hope For The Constituent Assembly.

I Have No Regrets - In Fact, I Am Pleased To Have Expelled The Us Ambassador, The Drug Enforcement Administration (dea) And To Have Closed The Us Military Base In Bolivia. Now, Without A Us Ambassador, There Is Less Conspiracy, And More Political Stability And Social Stability. Without The International Monetary Fund, We Are Better Off Economically.

What Unites Bolivia With Venezuela Is The Concept Of The Integration Of South America. This Is The Old Dream Of A Great Fatherland, A Dream That Existed Even Before The Spanish Conquest, And Simon Bolivar Fought For It Later On.

I'm Much More Convinced That The Hierarchy Comes From The Monarchy, And That The Hierarchy Stays Apart From The Oligarchy. So The Oligarchy Is Hurtful To The Majority In Bolivia.

State Control Is Important For The People Who Have Always Been Excluded From The Claims Of Social And Economic Development.

[in Bolivia] We Want To Overcome Our Historical Problems With Chile. The Sea Has Divided Us And The Sea Must Bring Us Back Together Again.

Capitalism And The Thirst For Profit Without Limits Of The Capitalist System Are Destroying The Planet...climate Change Has Placed All Humankind Before A Great Choice: To Continue In The Ways Of Capitalism And Death, Or To Start Down The Path Of Harmony With Nature And Respect For Life.

I Learned That The Political Is Above The Legal, That's Why When My Advisors Tell Me, Evo, What You Are Doing Is Illegal, I Say, If It Is Illegal, Then Do It Legal, You Have Studied For That".

Chavez's Oil Is Unimportant For Bolivia... We Are Not Dependent On Venezuela. We Complement Each Other. Venezuela Shares Its Wealth With Other Countries, But That Doesn't Make Us Subordinate.

I Am Sure Of The Fact That Fidel And Chávez Are Commanders Of The Forces Of Freedom In America, To Liberate America And The World.

I Don't Debate With Liars.

Friends, We Have Now Won....i Say To Aymaras, Quechuas, Chiquitaos, And Guaranis: For The First Time We Are Going To Be Presidents. And I Want To Say To Businesses, Intellectual Professionals, And Artists: Do Not Abandon Us.

I Am Catholic But I Want To Say Something To The Catholics. Thank You For Some Of The Bishops Who Live In Rural Areas, And Are Still Catholic. These Bishops Of The Catholic Churches Still Pray For The Poor, And Pray For Their President Who Works For The Poor, While The Leaders Of The Catholic Church Only Defend Oligarchy.

I Am Not Accustomed To Protocol.

In This New Millennium It Is More Important To Defend The Rights Of The Mother Earth To Guarantee Human Rights.

Israel Does Not Respect The Principles Or Purposes Of The United Nations Charter Nor The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights.

Politics In Bolivia Must Combine Social Consciousness With Professional Competency. In My Administration, Intellectuals From The Upper Class Can Be Cabinet Ministers Or Ambassadors, As Can Members Of Indian Ethnic Groups.

In Iraq, [american Administration] Said Saddam Hussein Had Weapons Of Mass Destruction Endangering Mankind. With This Pretext, The U.s. Intervened Militarily, And All They Did Is Take Control Over Oil Fields, And Oil Wells.

Mass Destruction

The United States Is Using Its War On Drugs As An Excuse To Expand Its Control Over Latin America.

The Bolivian Government Has Promised To Guarantee Autonomy In The Framework Of Unity, Legality, And With The Goal Of Equalizing The Different Regions Of Bolivia. It's Right There In The Constitution.

Now We Are Immersed In Deep Democratic Revolutions, For The Recovery Of Our Resources, And To Transform A Resource Into A Basic Human Right. And That Is Spread Around The World.

Around The World

I Never Wore A Tie Voluntarily, Even Though I Was Forced To Wear One For Photos When I Was Young And For Official Events At School. I Used To Wrap My Tie In A Newspaper, And Whenever The Teacher Checked I Would Quickly Put It On Again. I'm Not Used To It. Most Bolivians Don't Wear Ties.

The Relationship Between The Government Of The United States And Social And Indigenous Movements Has Always Been Difficult. Not Just In Bolivia But Worldwide. We Need To Have Bilateral Relations Characterized By Mutual Respect.

The Worst Enemy Of Humanity Is U.s. Capitalism. That Is What Provokes Uprisings Like Our Own, A Rebellion Against A System, Against A Neoliberal Model, Which Is The Representation Of A Savage Capitalism. If The Entire World Doesn't Acknowledge This Reality, That The National States Are Not Providing Even Minimally For Health, Education And Nourishment, Then Each Day The Most Fundamental Human Rights Are Being Violated.

Baldness That Appears To Be Normal Is A Disease In Europe, Almost All Of Them Are Bald, And That Is Because Of The Things They Eat; While Among The Indigenous Peoples There Are No Bald People, Because We Eat Other Things.

Natural Disasters In Bolivia Have Been Getting Worse With The Passage Of Time. It's Brought About By A System: The Capitalist System, The Unbridled Industrialization Of The Resources Of The Planet Earth.

Industrialization

We Have Raised An Issue That Is Already In The Bolivian Constitution, That Water Is A Universal Human Right. And We Asked The United Nations To Recognize Water As A Human Right.

We See How Capitalism Is Destroying Mother Earth. I Remain Convinced That The Earth Can Exist Without Man But Man Cannot Live Without The Earth.

Geopolitical Interests Are Behind The So-called War On Drugs And Terrorism.

With Our Goddess, The Pachamama, And It Is Not Possible To Continue Having A Monopoly Of Religious Faith, Only Catholic. We Have Therefore Adopted The New Constitution As A Secular State Where All Religious Beliefs Will Be Respected.

The U.s. Should Be Equally Responsible For Diminishing The Cocaine Market Within The United States As It Is In Fighting The Drug Elsewhere.

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