At
UN,
Morales of Bolivia Contradicts US Crowley on Obama Aid Cuts, ALBA Wash
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 25 -- When Bolivian President Evo Morales appeared
September 21 for the first of his two press conference at the UN,
Inner City Press asked him about reductions in aid from the US.
Based on his answer,
Inner City Press went later than day to the US
Mission to the UN and asked State Department spokesman PJ Crowley about
Morales' statement “that the U.S. and the Obama Administration has
cut a lot of aid to Bolivia. He tied it to the failure to fall in
line in Copenhagen and to a variety of issues.”
Pressed,
Crowley
answered that “we went through some restructuring of aid that was
needed, where Bolivia did not qualify for certain kinds of aid based
on conditions on the ground there. But we pledge to work with Libya
to see if we couldn’t improve Bolivia’s track record to be able
to qualify, once again, for some conditional aid that is provisional
based on certain specifications and performances by the host country.
So this is an issue that we’ve pledged to continue to work with
Bolivia on.” (This is from the US
transcript; the reference to
Libya seems strange.)
But
this happy talk
on Bolivia was contradicted by Morales on September 24. Inner City
Press went to his second press conference and conveyed what the US
had said, asking for response. In Spanish, Morales totally disagreed
(see Spanish full text below, transcribed by a friend of Inner City
Press.)
Morales
said that
the US cut off funding under the Millennium Account -- but that
Bolivia had turned to Brazil. He said that the US made tariffs on
textiles less favorable -- but that Bolivia turned to Brazil,
Argentina and “especially Venezuela," leader of the Grupo Alba. He
denounced immunity for
US diplomats, and said he had no regrets about expelling the US
Ambassador from Bolivia.
Morales on Sept 24, 2010, ALBA (white) wash of US
spin (cycle) not shown
Atmospherically,
Morales
was galant, calling on “las damas”
-- the ladies --
first, then “los varones” (the
boys). In response to a question
about freedom of the press and a pending law which would allow the
stripping of the license of any media engaged in racism, Morales told
how his mother was precluded from walking on the sidewalk, had to
walk “with the horse.” He said, “Now WE are in the
palace.” He ran fifteen minutes over, to the consternation of first
Cyprus then the Arab League.
Below
is Morales'
answer to Inner City Press' questions; compare it to PJ Crowley's
answer,
as
transcribed by the US (again, the reference to Libya seems a little
strange) --
Inner
City
Press: There was a press conference by Evo Morales of Bolivia
today across the street, and he said – as he said before, he said
that the U.S. and the Obama Administration has cut a lot of aid to
Bolivia. He tied it to the failure to fall in line in Copenhagen and
to a variety of issues, but he was pretty strong on that. And he also
said as – of Colombia, who is running for a Security Council seat,
he said they’re just a U.S. candidate. So I wanted to know if you
can have any response, I guess, to either of those two. And also, who
does the U.S. prefer among Germany, Portugal, and Canada for the WEOG
seat on the Security Council?
MR.
CROWLEY:
I’m quite confident we’re not going to talk about our
deliberations in terms of votes for countries for particular seats on
committees.
Inner
City
Press: And what about – do you have any response to the two –
is it a fact that the aid was – he said last time he came here, he
said again today, that U.S. aid to Bolivia is rapidly (inaudible).
MR.
CROWLEY:
I’m a little rusty on these subjects. We did have a
meeting last year with the Bolivian foreign minister. We went through
some restructuring of aid that was needed, where Bolivia did not
qualify for certain kinds of aid based on conditions on the ground
there. But we pledge to work with Libya to see if we couldn’t
improve Bolivia’s track record to be able to qualify, once again,
for some conditional aid that is provisional based on certain
specifications and performances by the host country. So this is an
issue that we’ve pledged to continue to work with Bolivia on.
Morales' September 24, 2010 answer to Inner City
Press' questions:
Yo
tengo
mucho deseo que las relaciones bilaterales con Estados Unidos
mejoren. Y sobre todo deberia mejorar un presidente afro-Americano...
Antes los acuerdos nunca respectaban las normas ni las constitucion,
es mas, nos pedian inmunidad para los funcionarios de lla embajada de
Estados Unidos. Inmunidad es una carta blanca para que maten, que
nunca sean procesados por las normas Bolivianas. Las bases militares,
donde hay, tienen inmunidad, como en Colombia, pueden matar a quien
sea, y nunca van a ser procesados en Estados Unidos, perdon, en
Colombia. No comparto con las bases militares.
Segundo,
es,
no hay ninguna muestra clara por parte de la administracion Obama
para mejorar las relaciones diplomaticas, relaciones de comercio, de
cooperacion, de inversion, de socios.
Porque
digo
eso, mira, nos quitan las preferencias arancelarias. Pero ya no
me quejo de eso. Sin las preferencias arancelarias de EEUU, ahora
vendemos mejor nuestros textiles, a otros paises, como Brazil, como
Argentina, y especialmente, Venezuela. Y sin ningun condicionamiento,
a demas de eso. Y tenemos mas ingresos.
Segundo.
EEUU,
como los paises llamados en via de desarrollo, tiene la cuenta
del milenio. Nos quitaron la cuenta del milenio. Y felizmente hemos
resuelto con Brasil. Ya no necesitamos.
Y
supuesta
cooperacion con USAID. Mediante USAID. Mas si con los
recursos economicos del pueblo norteamericano, prebenda algunos
dirigientes, y los dirigientes conspiran contra el gobierno nacional.
En este momento. No traje documentos.
No
me
arrepiento de haber expulsado el embajador de estados unidos.
Expulsa del embajador de Estados Unidos, ya no hay intento de golpe
de estado al gobierno nacional, de esta manera acabar con la
democracia.
Entonces.
El
gobierno de EEUU, que de verdad, dos presidentes marginados,
humillados, discriminados, un presidente producto de la migracion,
otro presidente sometido a los migrantes de esa invasion europea, si
tenemos ese origen, es como para juntarnos para ver, y trabajar, para
los migrantes, no? para resolver, y ayudar a los sectores mas
indefensos. Eso deberia ser nuestra politica. Seguramente en los EEUU
y en el mundo, quieren ver trabajar juntos. Yo decia, un negro con un
indio. Seria belleza para la gente. Pero no, no hay, tengo muchas
dudas. Ojala mejore, y quiero que sepan, nosotros venimos de una
cultura de dialogo, y quisieramos que el dialogo sea con todo el
mundo. Dialogo con todos.
, 
