Political Crossfire Forums

[Kindred]

Leftist Morales Claims Victory in Bolivia



COCHABAMBA, Bolivia - The leftist who claimed victory in Bolivia's presidential race on Monday repeated his promise to end a U.S.-backed program to eradicate coca plants, saying the crop that provides the raw material for cocaine is part of Bolivian culture.

Evo Morales — himself a coca farmer who played an important role in protests that unseated two governments — also pledged Monday to respect private property, apparently seeking to reassure investors despite his plans to assert state ownership over Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves.

With almost 25 percent of the official votes counted, Morales holds a lead of nearly 47 percent with his conservative rival Jorge Quiroga getting 36 percent, according to the National Electoral Court. On Sunday, Quiroga conceded defeat.

If the results hold, Morales would be the first Indian president in the 180-year history of independent Bolivia and solidify a continental leftward shift.

Morales was congratulated by Venezuela's self-proclaimed revolutionary leader Hugo Chavez and by the more centrist Socialist president of Chile, Ricardo Lagos. No early call came from the United States, and Morales said, "neither was I expecting one."

A State Department spokeswoman, Jan Edmondson, later said in Washington that "while official results have not yet been released, we congratulate Evo Morales on his apparent victory."

She said the U.S. has had good relations with Bolivia in the past and "we're prepared to work to build the same relationship with the next government."

Morales has been an irritant for Washington for years while he has built close ties with Cuban President Fidel Castro and Chavez. A State Department report earlier this year referred to him as an "illegal-coca agitator."

The site of his news conference — the offices of the coca growers union where he rose to political prominence — showed that his apparent victory did not mellow his crusade against U.S. coca-eradication efforts.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051220/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/bolivia_election_24

[BastionOfSanity]

Good. South America continues to free itself from the grasp of American oppression.

[Reform]

Wonderful news, a healthy opposition to the neo-liberal system and a guarentee for more representation of World Social Forum concerns.

[clg311]

What bastion and reform said.

[Alula]

isn't it supposed to be a democratic point of veiw that we are trying to provide
to other countries or is it certain laws that pertain to the wealth of our nations
wealthiest. Okay my point is how do these constitutions read? If these constitutions are not read correctly could they have any bearing on our rights.
If so, how does that effect the small class of people who are going to do
what they are going to do. No matter what guidlines you set.

[Gnostic]

Despite all the machinations and detestable negative interference from DC in democratically elected governments, it seems South America is becoming more and more free. That would be true democratic freedom, not the puppeting kind DC likes to force on other nations at the point of a gun and despite popularly elected leaderships.

Venezuela and Chavez have swung hard left and told DC to stick it, and now Bolivia. Bravo! It is about time somebody down there finally tells DC where to shove it with their continued, corrupt and destructive "war on drugz", and stopped bending over without vaseline to the DEA.

I do not do coke nor do I condone it's use. But DC needs to wake the hell up and stop trying to control other nation's cultures, peoples and prosperities because there is a drug USE problem HERE that is exacerbated by the tax funded and useless war on drugs agenda.

Though I hate to see America undermined and made a mockery of like this globally, it is satisfying to see the a-holes in DC get their just rewards for a failed and utterly miserable foreign policy with S.A.

[Gnostic]

"No early call came from the United States"

Of course not. That would have been like Lech Walesa getting an early congratulatory call from the Kremlin back in the Solidarity days.

DC does'nt respect or want democratically elected governments voted for by the people. They prefer puppet governments who are willing to take it from the backside and smile the whole time, all the while opening their doors to American multi-nationals so the rich kids can make fortunes and keep the rest of the population in poverty to control them while we spray their only source of livelihood to feed their families with poisons and machine guns.

Sorry, I'll shutup now, I just think this is awesome news.

[liford]

This is a good move for Bolivia. We need to stop wasting resources trying to destroy other people's property. It's nice to see that a South American country had a fair election though. I wonder if this leftward shift will be good for the country in the long run though.

The US is not happy with this result. We do not have the same kind of control now. Just let it go. Do we really think we can eliminate all coca plants from South America? We just need to leave these people alone. A certain level of trust needs to exist. We can't just use this effort as an excuse to extend our military power in South America. We are hurting their economy by destroying these plants, and we have no right to do so.

Coca Cola supposedly uses the plant in its product. That doesn't quite seem right that we can tell the Bolivians that they can't have their own resource, then we go and use it in a common beverage.

The Bolivians will likely move toward socialism with this election. The US will also not be happy with that. Hopefully, we'll just accept the news and stop messing with these people. Evo Morales sounds like he knows the needs of the people, as he grew up in extreme poverty and seems genuine in his effort to improve the economy. I'm sure it would be a lot easier if we're not there to scrape away their meager resources. This is what the Bolivian people want, and who are we to get in the way of that. It may not be a popular idea in our country to move toward socialism, but it's their call.

[Alula]

common beverages of coca plant would be a terrible idea. you see in america
we have doctors they prescribe your medication. I have been on medication for a long time for depression. long story short. The US has a different standard it has to be FDA aproved. Then prescribed.. then you have to see
if it works if it doesn't you try a new one then if that one doesn't work.
They put you on a new one. If I drank a Coca beverage my heart would pop.

[Gnostic]

[quote="Alula"]common beverages of coca plant would be a terrible idea. you see in america
we have doctors they prescribe your medication. I have been on medication for a long time for depression. long story short. The US has a different standard it has to be FDA aproved. Then prescribed.. then you have to see
if it works if it doesn't you try a new one then if that one doesn't work.
They put you on a new one.quote]

BINGO!! And there you have it folks! The REAL reason behind the drug war in America!

The big pharmacueticals don't want you to legally have a substance you can either make or grow yourself. Marijuana for instance has been proven to be so beneficial medically for so many ailments, that it's banishment from much wider use in the medical establishment is a sin. But woa is to the pharmaceutical giant who would never be able to market such a drug, because noone would buy it if it were legalized. We would just grow a plant or two of our own, and avoid paying TAXES on it at the same time......something the pharmaceuticals AND the federal guvmint are DEFINITELY against. If they can't have their cut of the pie in the sky they don't want it used, by anyone, and will bribe, cajole, pester and otherwise lobby every legislator in DC to ensure it STAYS that way.