President Evo Morales of Bolivia began his address to the 69th
Session of the General Assembly on September 24 with the following
words: “Mother Earth and humanity are dying, lashed by the
environmental, climatic, financial, and food crisis that has been
generated by an inhumane and predatory capitalism that converts human
life and Mother Earth into merchandize. Today we have an historical
opportunity to construct a new and different world, and we ought to do
it without delay. . . . We applaud the proposal of the Open Work
Group of the United Nations on the Objectives of Sustainable
Development that incorporates the proposal by Bolivia and the peoples
of the world on respect for ‘Mother Earth’ and ‘harmony with nature.’
It is not a question of a mere policy announced but a shared
commitment of the entire world to change our visions of development
toward a vision more integral and holistic. We propose to the world
the perspective of ‘Living Well’ in harmony with Mother Earth and the
construction of a culture of life, complementarity, solidarity, and
peace. There has been lost respect for Mother Earth, who today is
commercialized and manipulated with grave dangers for life. Now, as
in no other time, the premise that ‘human beings believe themselves to
be the masters and owners of nature’ is truer than ever. The human
being, fed by capitalism, has converted everything into a market.”
Evo Morales has a comprehensive perspective that integrates an
ecological perspective with critiques of capitalism and with issues of
neocolonialism, global inequality and poverty, the sovereignty of
nations, ethnic and racial discrimination and social exclusion, and
gender equality. He is an important personality in the new Latin
America political reality that has emerged since 1995, on a foundation
of social movements in opposition to the neoliberal project and
structural adjustment programs, imposed on the world by the
International Monetary Fund. Leftist and socialist parties have come
to power in Latin America, and a new generation of charismatic
leaders, such as Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador,
and Evo Morales in Bolivia has been lifted up by popular movements.
On October 12, Evo Morales was re-elected president of Bolivia,
receiving 61% of the votes in multiple-party elections. His nearest
rival received 24% of the votes.
An English translation of Evo Morales’ address to the United
Nations can be found in the Global Learning Website at:
http://www.globallearning-cuba.com/address-to-un-general-assembly-september-24-2014.html.
Who is Evo Morales? What are the fundamental historical and
social facts of the history of Bolivia? For answers to these
questions, see the blog post of September 30, 2014:
http://www.globallearning-cuba.com/blog-umlthe-view-from-the-southuml/archives/09-2014.
Charles McKelvey
Professor Emeritus
Presbyterian College
Clinton, South Carolina
Section on Political Science from the South
Division of Philosophy and History
University of Havana
Havana, Cuba
Global Learning, LLC
http://www.globallearning-cuba.com
See the blog at the Global Learning Website, “The View from the South:
Commentaries on world events from the Third World perspective.” Find
it at http://www.globallearning-cuba.com/blog-the-view-from-the-south.html
