“I decided to resign from office so that Carlos Mesa and Luis Camacho would cease abusing and harming thousands of brothers … I have the obligation to seek peace and Bolivians fighting amongst ourselves hurts a great deal, for this reason I am submitting my letter of resignation to the Plurinational Assembly of Bolivia,” Morales stated.After serious waves of violent against members and leaders of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), intimidation of journalists, burning of residences, and betrayals by political allies and members of the National Police, the country is facing a political crisis.The nation’s armed forces (FF.AA.) issued a statement indicating that in order to restore stability, a change in the Presidency was necessary, “We suggest that the President resign from office allowing the pacification and maintenance of stability in Bolivia,” stated William Kaiman, commander in chief of the Armed Forces.

“We are resigning so that our humble brothers are no longer beaten, poor families humiliated, we do not want confrontations. We have decided to relinquish our victory to allow for elections, all for Bolivia, all for the homeland,” Morales said.

“This is not a betrayal of social movements; the struggle continues; we are the people. We have liberated Bolivia, we are leaving a liberated homeland, developing, with generations that very much have a future,” Morales concluded.

(From teleSUR)

The 701 members of the Cuban medical brigade in Bolivia are safe, with all necessary provisions, and are being kept informed of events in permanent communication with the mission’s leadership, stated Yoandra Muro, head of the brigade in that nation, speaking on Cuban television.On November 9, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a declaration stating, “Disregarding electoral institutions and the people’s mandate expressed at the polls, sectors of the Bolivian opposition, with the support and leadership of the United States and regional oligarchies, have launched a coup with the aim of denying the Bolivian people the electoral result. The opposition coup strategy has led to severe violence across the country, which has cost lives, hundreds of wounded, and expressions of racism toward original peoples.”

The President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, announced on Sunday his resignation given increasing violence by opposition groups challenging the results of elections held October 20.

“I decided to resign from office so that Carlos Mesa and Luis Camacho would cease abusing and harming thousands of brothers … I have the obligation to seek peace and Bolivians fighting amongst ourselves hurts a great deal, for this reason I am submitting my letter of resignation to the Plurinational Assembly of Bolivia,” he stated.“This is not a betrayal of social movements; the struggle continues; we are the people. We have liberated Bolivia, we are leaving a liberated homeland, developing, with generations that very much have a future,” Morales concluded.

Faced with this situation, Evo issued a call: “To my colleagues and the Bolivian people, to my sisters and brothers, to organize, prepare, and we will defend democracy,” PL reported.

The President stressed that he is confidently waiting for the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to issue its final report.

Meanwhile, the opposition called a civic strike in Santa Cruz, and stated that they will ignore the constitutional government of Morales and install what they called “a new constitutional President.”

For her part, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, María Eugenia Choque, insisted that she “has nothing to hide” and guaranteed the transparency of the vote, rejecting allegations of fraud by candidate Carlos Mesa and sectors that support him.

The transparency of the elections was highlighted by the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, in his remarks at the preparatory ministerial meeting for the 18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement: “We congratulate the people and government of Bolivia for the transparency of the electoral process they have conducted. We congratulate President Evo Morales for the preliminary results obtained, which confirm decisive popular support for his government, results that we expect to be confirmed.”He denounced the campaign of misinformation, destabilization, and violence underway, staged by sectors of the opposition and instigated by the United States, threatening the peace and security of citizens in Bolivia.

(Granma)

On his official Twitter account, Díaz-Canel commented that Bolivia continues left on the Latin American political map. “Despite the continental right’s media war, Evo won for the fourth time. Congratulations brother President,” he wrote.

Evo Morales won the elections held October 20 with 46.86 percent of the vote, a difference of ten percentage points over Carlos Mesa, thus avoiding a second round, according to preliminary results, as reported by teleSUR.

(Granma)

Although all ballots, including those from isolated rural areas traditionally favorable to Evo, were yet to be counted, the opponent Carlos Mesa began to celebrate the need for a second round, which no one had confirmed. Mesa told the media that, if Evo won, he would not be recognized by opponents and a call would be made to not accept the popular verdict.The governments of Brazil, Argentina, the United States, and the OAS quickly agreed with Mesa and began to question the Electoral Court and the vote counting system.The uncertainty created as to whether there would be a second round was fueled by the fact that the Electoral Court has not provided new reports, due to the remoteness of several rural areas and the difficulty involved in transporting ballots to the counting and verification centers.

(Granma)

In a Twitter message, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla emphasized the Bolivian leader’s actions in the face of an environmental disaster, writing, “We recognize the leadership of President Evo and the brothers in Bolivia, who are confronting fires in their area of the Amazon. They can count on our solidarity and support…”

The indigenous President has adopted significant measures to protect Mother Earth from the flames that have affected more than 700,000 hectares in Bolivia. First was the key step of creating an Environmental Emergency Cabinet in Roboré, in the department of Santa Cruz, charged with evaluating the situation, facilitating help, and attending to the most urgent needs of the population and nature impacted by the fires, according to the country’s Ministry of Communications.

Official Bolivian reports indicate that working in the area are 1,800 soldiers, 450 police, 21 ambulances and 42 water trucks with their crews, as well as a large number of doctors and volunteers, for a total of more than 4,000 persons. This coordinated response has contributed to preventing any loss of human life, to date.

Some 2,000 residents and firefighters have been provided medical assistance, although no severe cases have been reported, according to statements by the country’s Health Minister, Gabriela Montaño.

Also deployed were veterinary personnel to aid domestic and wild animals, and refuge centers were created for the area’s fauna. A report on RT indicated that seven aircraft are fighting the fires, among these a Boeing 747 Super Tanker leased by the Morales government.

Of course, criticism from the opposition was not long in coming, but quickly lost steam given the preliminary results of measures taken by the President, who tweeted, “I thank the press for visiting Chiquitanía to verify the struggle underway against the fires. Together we confirmed a reduction in the number of hotspots over the last few days, from 8,000 to 162.”

Morales has provided a personal example of the attitude required to overcome a natural disaster: cooperating with the firefighting brigades; coordinating the Emergency Cabinet’s work; inspecting affected areas from the air; holding meetings with residents; and temporarily suspending his campaign as the Movement to Socialism (MAS) candidate for President in the upcoming October elections, given the difficult situation in Chiquitanía. He has additionally declared an “ecological pause” in affected areas, which includes a prohibition on land sales, and accepted international aid, which is still insufficient.

No less important is his call for a meeting, to address the fire emergency, of foreign ministers from the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization’s (OTCA) member countries, which includes Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

The Bolivian government, and its President in particular, have promoted the hashtag #UnidadEnLaAdversidad (UnityInAdversity), sharing news on the fires via social media. A good maxim for a sister people confronting a great challenge – a difficult task that requires the best from human beings, and especially unity to fight the flames and begin the recovery.

The Amazon’s importance for the world

- The Amazon rainforest covers 7.4 million square kilometers, 5% of the world’s continental land surface, including areas in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

- The Amazon River is the largest in the world, carrying an average of 230,000 cubic meters of water per second, 20% of the fresh water on the planet.

- Indigenous groups, with great cultural and linguistic riches, account for 17% of the population in the region. These native peoples have always used the rainforest’s resources in a sustainable manner thanks to their knowledge of its biodiversity and ecosystem.

- Amazonia is a region of great geopolitical importance both nationally and internationally, given the scarce, strategic resources it holds, its environmental importance, and cultural patrimony.

Source: Cepal

During the fraternal meeting, the two leaders noted the excellent state of bilateral relations and prospects for their further development. They discussed recent events in the region, reiterating unwavering solidarity with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro Moros, and agreed on the importance of defending the principles of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

President Morales expressed his solidarity and that of the Bolivian people with victims of the tornado that hit Havana, and denounced U.S. threats to implement Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.

Juan Ramón Quintana Taborga, minister of the Presidency, accompanied the distinguished visitor, while on the Cuban side, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla was also present.

This was in 1995, and Evo Morales endured insults and interrogations, for defending his rights and those of coca growers. But the most hateful way his captors referred to him was “indio” – a word that served as an offense for them, but is one of his most valued attributes.

Now that “Indian,” Evo Morales, is loved by his people and continues to dignify his indigenous roots, struggling tirelessly to eradicate the social ills that in the past left his nation without a future.

Nonetheless, some far removed from this reality, at different latitudes, or in the comfort of their homes, criticize his decision to run for a fourth term as President, denying the broad support he enjoys among the people and the figures that confirm this fact.

BOLIVIA BEFORE EVO

An opportune comment appeared in the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, recalling how, in the not so distant past, a few owners of significant capital fiercely exploited the Aymara, Quechua, Guarani, and other original peoples of Bolivia’s universe, whose elemental rights were ignored.

The paper points out that 90% of the rural population lived in poverty, making Bolivia, Honduras and Haiti a trio of countries facing uncertain futures, with the worse human development indices in the region. At the same time, publically owned companies were privatized by oligarchic governments beginning in 1952, and Presidents took turns auctioning off the people’s welfare and the assets they were elected to protect, not embezzle.

Nonetheless, as expert Darío Restrepo points out in a study conducted by the National University of Colombia, a new program was implemented with the arrival of the Morales administration, very different from that of the previous 20 years.

“Instead of exclusively representative democracy, power was redirected to indigenous, rural, and popular communities, peoples, and organizations; instead of the President calling for a modern, Western, liberal Bolivia, he expresses the aspiration for a multi-national Bolivia, criticizes the ‘colonial state’ and liberal, bourgeois democracy,” Restrepo states.

BOLIVIA WITH EVO

According to Chilean newspaper La Tercera, in the last 12 years the Bolivian economy has grown 4.9% annually, far exceeding the regional average of 2.7%, and tripling its GDP from 11.5 billion to the current 37.77 billion.

This publication also reports that, according to the country’s National Institute of Statistics (INE), inflation rose by just 2.7% in 2017, the lowest figure in ten years, while the labor market strengthened.

On the other hand, in an interview with the Bolivian leader by BBC Mundo, Evo described, as another of the battles of his government, the fact that for three or four consecutive years his nation has shown the highest economic growth in all of South America. “That has never happened since the founding of the Republic,” he reaffirmed.

Another achievement of his Presidency is the reduction of poverty. According to teleSUR, in 2017 Bolivia made considerable progress on this front, with the poverty rate falling to its lowest level in history, at 36.4%.

The minimum income has increased up to 127%, and the minimum wage of workers is the second best in Latin America.

But the population has not only benefited economically. As the Bolivian President says in the interview, “The most humiliated and marginalized sector, which was that of women of all social and indigenous classes, now has a place in the Plurinational State.

“We all have the same rights and duties,” he stressed.

According to analyst Hugo Siles, “The contemporary history of Bolivia is divided in two: before and after Evo Morales.” In addition, he stresses in La Nación, “Bolivia has changed substantially in the last decade, there is a before and after with Evo Morales. It is a very different nation socially, economically, and politically. The arrival of Morales implied a 180-degree turnabout on issues such as the management of natural resources and the inclusion of indigenous peoples.”

At the same time, Siles recognizes that much remains to be done, especially on issues related to reforms or changes in the judicial system, and greater recognition of the LGBT+ population.

This modest man, from a humble family, who worked as a bricklayer, baker, and trumpeter to pay for his studies, was branded a terrorist and demonized by the opposition to curb his political aspirations. But in 2005, he won the Presidential elections with 53.7% of the votes, a level of support that continues to date.

IN FIGURES

• The Morales government has recently announced a 1.5 billion dollar investment in roads and airports.

• With Evo Morales as President, Bolivia has established 3,000 primary health care facilities and more than 200 for secondary assistance.

• More than 85% of the population has access to potable water, an everyday issue in the past.

• Some 1.4 billion land titles have been awarded to small farmers and indigenous peoples.

• A “Dignity” benefit is provided to 900,000 older adults, thanks to an allocation of more than 2.9 billion dollars

• A total of 14% of the state budget is destined to education.

(Granma)

During his stay the distinguished guest will hold official talks with Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Presdent of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, among other activities.

(Granma)

The role of Cuban doctors in these initiatives is totally vital, since almost 100 percent of the specialists present at the fair are members of the BMC, she told Prensa Latina.

The official pointed out the humanistic character of Cuban participation in these activities, in which they provide free medical attention to all strata of Bolivian society.

The labor of Cuban brothers is a sample of health personnel that goes down to the bases and goes to remote areas where many times people cannot access a specialist due to distance or economy, she explained.

She also accentuated the positive impact of health fairs for the country’s population, bringing it closer to medical specialties that are not normally available in local hospitals.

We are going to do at least nine fairs during the 2018 administration. We started in Tarija and we will probably continue in Chuquisaca and then continue in La Paz, the minister advanced.

Between yesterday and today, 108 doctors from the Ministry of Health, 67 from My Health program and around 50 from the BMC, attend the residents of Bermejo in 21 specialties and six services for free.

The fair takes place in the municipal multi-sport and has consultations of dermatology, cardiology, pediatrics, internal medicine, gastroenterology, general medicine, allergology, neurology and otorhinolaryngology.

Also there are involved specialists in ophthalmology, endocrinology, angiology, nephrology, orthopedics, physiatry, gynecology, surgery, psychiatry, dentistry, imaging and rheumatology.

The population also has free access to nursing, pharmacy, clinical laboratory, optometry, electrocardiogram and image tests.

(Prensa Latina)