Bolivia’s Evo Morales Declares ‘Total Independence’ from World Bank & IMF

Since Bolivian leader Evo Morales came to power in 2006, the country’s overall standard of living has risen. 

Increases in spending on health, education, and lifting residents out of poverty programs has increased by more than 45%.

Much of Bolivia’s success has been credited to its decoupling from the global neoliberal, predatory financial system.

Following his recent speech at the Mercosur Summit in the city of Mendoza, Morales live-tweeted:

“In view of the global financial crisis of capitalism, we are in a moment of integration for the liberation of the people.”

During the regional forum with many other international leaders present, Morales also spoke of “First the Great Homeland,” and warned that, “Our Mercosur cannot repeat the bitter history of the Organization of American States (OAS): for political or ideological reasons expel or exclude some nations.”

Morales is not shy about articulating the nature of the geopolitical threat.

He added:

“Interventions in Libya, Iraq and other countries are conducted to appropriate natural resources. The main purpose in Venezuela is oil.”

Currently, Venezuela is being targeted by the US and its intelligence agencies for regime change.

Will the US also make a move against Bolivia too?

Since 2006, a year after Morales came to power, social spending on health, education, and poverty programs has increased by over 45 percent.

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has been highlighting his government’s independence from international money lending organizations and their detrimental impact the nation.

“A day like today in 1944 ended Bretton Woods Economic Conference (USA), in which the IMF and WB were established,” Morales tweeted.

“These organizations dictated the economic fate of Bolivia and the world. Today we can say that we have total independence of them.”

Un día como hoy en 1944 finaliza la Conferencia Económica de Bretton Woods (EEUU), en la que se acuerda la creación del FMI y BM.

— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) July 22, 2017

Morales has said Bolivia’s past dependence on the agencies was so great that the International Monetary Fund had an office in government headquarters and even participated in their meetings.

Bolivia is now in the process of becoming a member of the Southern Common Market, Mercosur and Morales attended the group’s summit in Argentina last week.

Bolivia’s popular uprising known as the The Cochabamba Water War in 2000 against United States-based Bechtel Corporation over water privatization and the associated World Bank policies shed light on some of the debt issues facing the region.

“The Bank and the IMF have been requiring these countries (in the Global South) to accept “structural adjustment,” which includes opening markets to foreign firms and privatizing state enterprises, including utilities,” the New Yorker reported.

At the time, the World Bank had stated:

“Poor governments are often too plagued by local corruption and too ill equipped” and “no subsidies should be given to ameliorate the increase in water tariffs in Cochabamba.”

The New Yorker, reported:

“Most of the poorest neighborhoods were not hooked up to the network, so state subsidies to the water utility went mainly to industries and middle-class neighborhoods; the poor paid far more for water of dubious purity from trucks and handcarts. In the World Bank’s view, it was a city that was crying out for water privatization.” (…)

Sources: 21stCenturyWire.com; TeleSurTV.net