Evo Morales



Juan Evo Morales Ayma (b. October 26, 1959), popularly known as Evo (IPA: [ˈeβ̞o]), is the President of Bolivia, the country's first Amerindian president.

2000s

 * Friends, we have now won. ...I say to Aymaras, Quechuas, Chiquitaos, and Guaranis: for the first time we [indigenous people] are going to be presidents. And I want to say to businesses, intellectual professionals, and artists: do not abandon us.
 * 18 Dec 2005 in Cochabamba,zdfbzfdg Socialismo], as quoted by Spanish Wikiquote.


 * 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.
 * Press conference during his first visit to Cuba, December 2005.
 * Terra (Colombia), as quoted by Spanish Wikiquote.


 * If we want to save the planet earth, to save life and humanity, we have a duty to put an end to the capitalist system. Unless we put an end to the capitalist system, it is impossible to imagine that there will be equality and justice on this planet earth. This is why I believe that it is important to put an end to the exploitation of human beings and to the pillage of natural resources, to put an end to destructive wars for markets and raw materials, to the plundering of energy, particularly fossil fuels, to the excessive consumption of goods and to the accumulation of waste. 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 channelled to make good the damage to the environment, to make reparations to the earth.
 * 


 * 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
 * Press conference Digital Journals in Spanish such as La Razón citing the article "Cuando la ley se convierte en una piedra en el zapato" or Libertad Digital "Evo Morales confiesa que da "pasos ilegales" en Bolivia para aplicar sus reformas."


 * I want to tell you, companions and union leaders, to all of you, if you are not with the official party (MAS) at this time, you are the opposition. If you are opposition, then you are right wing, of the racist-fascists, of the neo-liberals...it is time for definition either you are with the MAS or you are a fascist (this rhymes in Spanish: Sos MASista o sos facista). There is no middle ground. Define yourselves.
 * Translated from a video reported in all Bolivia's major written press. A video of the speech can be found here: http://www.ahorabolivia.com/2009/04/08/debate-%C2%BFsos-masista-o-fascista/


 * The conspiracy against my government is headed by the US Ambassador, USA, with funds that came from American taxpayers would think that they're using to help Bolivian people, is using the money in order to campaign against my government and me they met with NGOs and other groups here always with intention of conspiring. They offered the money in condition that they take part in campaign against Evo Morales; the major vacaca city who visit us recently told me that he was offered money by USAID agency to run as an opposition congressman, they even offered to pay for his campaign and the mayor told me that the people work for US agency go from house to house telling people if they've get rid of Evo they would have more money, if you want the document about this, we could, we are going to present to prove this the document to the US Congress.
 * Talk to Jazeera (March 2008)

2010s

 * The chicken that we eat is chock-full of feminine hormones. So, when men eat these chickens, they deviate from themselves as men.
 * Speech at the inauguration of conference on climate change held near Cochabamba, Bolivia. April 20, 2010.


 * 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"
 * Speech at the inauguration of conference on climate change held near Cochabamba, Bolivia. April 20, 2010.


 * 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.
 * Statement told to his supporters at airport near La Paz after his flight was hold for 13 hours in Vienna, Austria after it was suspected that Edward Snowden was traveling with him on board. July 3, 2013.

2020s

 * Our sin is that we are ideologically anti-imperialist, but this coup won’t make me change ideologically... We are very grateful to the president of Mexico, because he saved my life.
 * Quoted by Clifford Krauss, in ‘I Assume the Presidency’: Bolivia Lawmaker Declares Herself Leader, The New York Times, (12 November 2019)


 * The OAS made a political decision, not a technical or legal one. This is a report — now I have realized from the recommendations of some leftist brothers and sisters — that the OAS is not in the service of the people of Latin America, less so the social movements. The OAS is at the service of the North American empire.
 * Quoted in Exiled Bolivian President Evo Morales Calls for “National Dialogue”, Democracy Now! (14 November 2019)


 * Every day, we are reminded of the duty to continue our struggle against imperialism, against capitalism, and against colonialism. We must work together towards a world in which greater respect for the people and for Mother Earth is possible. In order to do this, it is essential for states to intervene so that the needs of the masses and the oppressed are put first. We have the conviction that we are the masses. And that the masses, over time, will win.
 * Preface to Vijay Prashad's Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations., 2020. p. 11

2000s

 * Bolivia has this long record of giving into the I.M.F. and the World Bank, privatizing their resources, like their power company and their water company. And the people of Bolivia were fed up with this... so Evo Morales ran on this ticket that said, “I’m not going to put up with this anymore.” .. The reason he was elected.. has to do with the extreme frustration and anger of the Bolivian people, of how they’ve been exploited and how the I.M.F. and the World Bank have insisted that they turn their resources over to foreign corporations. And also, you know, part of the World Trade Organization policies is that we insist that countries like Bolivia not subsidize their local industries and products, but that they accept our subsidies of them, and that they not erect any barriers against our goods coming in there, but they accept the barriers that we erect against their goods. And people around the world, Amy, are getting fed up with this. 300 million Latin Americans — South Americans out of 360 million, over 80% have voted for these types of candidates.... people like Evo Morales, really looked to Hugo Chavez as an example of someone who’s had the staying power. He’s been able to stay there, despite the fact that the (G.W. Bush) administration has spoken so strongly against him and is so angry...
 * John Perkins, quoted in: Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins: “We Have Created the World’s First Truly Global Empire”, Democracy Now,   (15 February 2006)


 * Well, I have no doubt that he (Evo Morales) has been visited by at least one of these men... they walk into his office and shake his hands and say, “Congratulations, Mr. President. You won. We launched a strong campaign against you, but now you’ve won. And now, I want to tell you the facts of life and make you —”... Morales was very diplomatic about the whole thing, but absolutely stood firm and said, “You know, my people have elected me for a reason, and I intend to honor that.” This is what his initial response was. But what I will say is we can’t imagine the pressure now that’s being exerted on a man like Morales, as is true with all these other presidents. They know what’s happened before their time. And... the pressure will be put on them tighter and tighter and tighter.... And imagine being in that position. Imagine being an integritous person and really wanting to help your country, being elected with a majority — Morales got 54% of the vote, which is unheard of in Bolivia; he was up against many opponents — and then, wanting to implement the policy, and somebody walks into your office and reminds you of what happened to all these other presidents.
 * John Perkins, quoted in: Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins: “We Have Created the World’s First Truly Global Empire”, Democracy Now,   (15 February 2006)


 * One of those leaders who came to address the U.N. General Assembly was Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia. While the U.S. rarely looks south for leadership, Morales’ example is worth considering. He has restored diplomatic relations with Iran. Against tremendous internal opposition, he nationalized Bolivia’s natural gas fields, transforming the country’s economic stability, and, interestingly, enriching the very elite that originally criticized the move...President Morales told me: “Neither mother earth nor life are commodities. We are talking about a profound change of models and systems.”
 * Amy Goodman "Global Consensus, Not Global Conquest" article (2007)

2010s

 * "Moving forward, we must always go with President Evo Morales, not only do we have to speak, but we must all work [in favor of him]"
 * Cardinal Toribio Ticona Porco statement endorsing Morales 2019 Presidential Campaign quoted in (May 1, 2019)


 * State company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), established by the government of President Evo Morales in 2008 to exploit lithium in the salt flats, aims to make Bolivia the fourth-largest producer by 2021. Morales, a leftist and former coca farmer, is counting on lithium to serve as the economic engine that lifts his country out of poverty.
 * Bolivia, with huge untapped reserves, gears up for soaring lithium demand, France 24 (15 September 2019)


 * Morales' cancellation of the ACISA deal opened the door to either a renegotiation of the agreement with terms delivering more of the profits to the area's population or the outright nationalization of the Bolivian lithium extraction industry.
 * Bolivian Coup Comes Less Than a Week After Morales Stopped Multinational Firm's Lithium Deal, Common Dreams, Eoin Higgins, (11 November 2019)


 * Camacho also hails from a family of corporate elites who have long profited from Bolivia’s plentiful natural gas reserves... his family lost part of its wealth when Morales nationalized the nation’s resources, in order to fund his vast social programs — which cut poverty by 42 percent and extreme poverty by 60 percent.
 * Max Blumenthal  and Ben Norton  in Bolivia Coup Led by Christian Fascist Paramilitary Leader, a Multi-Millionaire – with Foreign Support, Consortium News, (12 November 2019)


 * José Ariel Blanco, the 25-year-old owner of a stationery store two blocks from the legislature, said he was thankful for Mr. Morales’s achievements — chief among them, tackling the racism that the Indigenous had suffered for centuries.  “My grandmother couldn’t walk into a bank in her Indigenous clothes until Evo became president,” he said. “Now she can, and that won’t change.”
 * Clifford Krauss,  ‘I Assume the Presidency’: Bolivia Lawmaker Declares Herself Leader, The New York Times, (12 November 2019)


 * Morales upended politics in this nation long ruled by light-skinned descendants of Europeans by reversing deep-rooted inequality. The economy grew strongly thanks to a boom in prices of commodities and he ushered through a new constitution that created a new Congress with seats reserved for Bolivia’s smaller indigenous groups while also allowing self-rule for all indigenous communities.
 * Bolivia caught in a power struggle between Añez at home and Morales in exile, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), (14 November 2019)


 * In contrast, we were witnesses to how the highest level of government responded, threatening to surround the cities, cut off food supplies and wage war in the streets. The violence committed almost exclusively by government supporters left many wounded and several dead, but it also served to reveal the true character of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), which is still trying to sow chaos and fear in the population. From its conception and in its ideology, this is a movement to savagery, fueled by the discourse of racism and resentment, and openly rejecting the Church and God himself, as was evidenced by the words of now ex-president Evo Morales: “Should anyone say [salvation] comes down from heaven, No. From heaven comes only the rain, salvation does not come to us from heaven” (Jan 22, 2015). His fall from power demonstrates the opposite.
 * Bishop Robert Herman Flock quoted in, (November 14, 2019)


 * Broadly speaking, Evo Morales was a successful leader of Bolivia. A trade unionist with familial roots among the country’s indigenous peoples, he was first elected president in 2005 and was twice returned to office with substantial majorities. Morales is credited by the IMF with achieving a drastic reduction in poverty among farmers and coca growers and a societal revolution that, among other things, transformed the standing of Bolivia’s numerous ethnic minority groups.
 * He championed a “plurinational” constitution that guaranteed equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, effectively ending the monopoly on power previously enjoyed by Bolivians of European descent. His time in office also saw a big increase in women’s political participation.
 * The Guardian, The Observer view on Evo Morales and Bolivia, Observer editorial, (17 November 2019)


 * In the eighteen years since I wrote "The Tribe of Guarayamín," there have been significant changes in in the politics of indigenous identity in the Americas. Most powerful among them is the resurgence of Latin American sovereignty, with a strong core of indigenous leadership, much of it female. Evo Morales, an Aymara man, is president of Bolivia, with a new Constitution that renames it as a plurinational state, in recognition of its indigenous nations. Universities, radio stations, courtrooms carry on their business in indigenous languages, and long idle lands of latifundista families have been reclaimed and distributed to campesinxs, some of whom have become, under the new indigenous autonomy laws, self-governing communities for the first time in five hundred years.
 * Aurora Levins Morales Medicine Stories: Essays for Radicals (2019 edition)