Bolivian leader to cut own salary (Evo Morales)

[IndianaGreen]

Morales is moving out of a
room and into a palace

Bolivian leader to cut own salary

By Simon Watts
BBC Americas editor

The socialist president-elect of Bolivia, Evo Morales, has said he will cut his salary by half when he takes office next month.

Mr Morales said his cabinet would follow suit and that members of Bolivia's parliament would be expected to cut their allowances.

He also reaffirmed his commitment to change Bolivia's economic system.

At the moment, Mr Morales, an Aymara Indian born into poverty, rents a single room in a shared house.

When he moves into the presidential palace next month, Mr Morales is not planning to switch to a jet-set lifestyle.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4563356.stm

[FlemingsGhost]

1. Viva Morales!

Oh man, the State Dept. must be seething.

Viva!

[BrotherBuzz]

8. State Dept may be seething and Wolfowitz's World Bank shut out, but Rummy

May we smiling with glee because he could easily convince idiot Bush* that Bolivia could be overturned on the cheap and bolster his his poll numbers in the process. Natural gas is the energy growth industry and Bolivia sits on top of huge reserves of natural gas.


Dark Armies, Secret Bases, and Rummy


by Conn Hallinan


November 24, 2005

Foreign Policy In Focus - 2005-11-21

It would be easy to make fun of President Bush's recent fiasco at the 4th Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina. His grand plan for a free trade zone reaching from the Artic Circle to Tierra del Fuego was soundly rejected by nations fed up with the economic and social chaos wrought by neoliberalism. At a press conference, South American journalists asked him rude questions about Karl Rove. And the President ended the whole debacle by uttering what may be the most trenchant observation the man has ever made on Latin America: “Wow! Brazil is big!”

But there is nothing amusing about an enormous U.S. base less than 120 miles from the Bolivian border, or the explosive growth of U.S.-financed mercenary armies that are doing everything from training the military in Paraguay and Ecuador to calling in air attacks against guerillas in Colombia. Indeed, it is feeling a little like the run up to the ‘60s and ‘70s, when Washington-sponsored military dictatorships dominated most of the continent, and dark armies ruled the night.

U.S. Special Forces began arriving this past summer at Paraguay's Mariscal Estigarribia air base, a sprawling complex built in 1982 during the reign of dictator Alfredo Stroessner. Argentinean journalists who got a peek at the place say the airfield can handle B-52 bombers and Galaxy C-5 cargo planes. It also has a huge radar system, vast hangers, and can house up to 16,000 troops. The air base is larger than the international airport at the capital city, Asuncion . Some 500 special forces arrived July 1 for a three-month counterterrorism training exercise, code named Operation Commando Force 6.

<snip>

When U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Paraguay this past August, he told reporters that, “There certainly is evidence that both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways.” A Rumsfeld aide told the press that Cuba was involved in the unrest, a charge that even one of Bolivia's ousted presidents, Carlos Mesa, denies.

A major focus of the unrest in Bolivia is who controls its vast natural gas deposits, the second largest in the Western Hemisphere. Under pressure from the United States and the IMF, Bolivia sold off its oil and gas to Enron and Shell in 1995 for $263.5 million, less than 1% of what the deposits are worth.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=HAL20051124&articleId=1322

Bolivia has been placed on the National Intelligence Council's list of 25 countries where the United States will consider intervening in case of “instability.”

This is scary talk for Latin American countries. Would the United States invade Bolivia? Given the present state of its military, unlikely.

Would the United States try to destabilize Bolivia's economy while training people how to use military force to insure Enron, Shell, British Gas, Total, Repsol, and the United States continues to get Bolivian gas for pennies on the dollar? Quite likely.

And would the White House like to use such a coup as a way to send a message to other countries? You bet. President Bush may be clueless on geography, but he is not bad at overthrowing governments and killing people.

Will it be as easy as it was in the old days when the CIA could bribe truckers to paralyze Chile and set the stage for a coup? Nothing is easy in Latin America anymore.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. I like this guy. Of course, some asswipe will blow him

away. But enjoy it while you can guys.

[bbinacan]

3. What was his old salary and

what is his new one? The link didn't say.

[Judi Lynn]

11. He had worked as a farmer.

Apparently he wasn't living the Tom Delay/George W. _Bush lifestyle if he was RENTING ONE ROOM IN A HOUSE until now.

[killbotfactory]

4. He's a drug-running dictator who must be stopped

Also, al qaeda, 9/11, Castro, blah blah blah, terror, blah blah...

[Kiouni]

5. i like him

but i don't know if i can support someone so anti-united states. Also wasn't their just a report about how the u.s. has spent 770 million dollars to wipe out pakistans cocoa plants when we could have just bought it for half the price.

[politicat]

9. Pakistan doesn't have coca, it has opium poppies.

Coca won't grow in dry, semi-desert regions - it's a semi-tropical plant and prefers hot, damp conditions and does not grow outside of South America at all well. Opium poppies, which will grow in Pakistan, prefer a dry, warm climate and will grow almost anywhere.

And yes, the US does spend more on wiping out crops than it does on just buying and destroying the things... because we can't encourage people to grow plants, now, can we? :sarcasm:

As far as the two plants mentioned, both coca and opium poppies have solid medicinal uses. Unprocessed coca is not nearly the nasty thing that cocaine is, and raw opium is less addictive than the more processed forms. They aren't safer, necessarily - one can still die of a heart attack after consuming too much coca, for example - but they're harder to become addicted to, and in the case of coca, it's actually a rather healthful plant (it is high in vitamins, minerals and protein, and the stimulant effect of the 0.2% of cocaine available in unprocessed leaves would minimize the effects of hypoxia that comes with living at high altitude).

So, which did you mean?

[Kiouni]

13. Opium thats the one

i understand the reason for medicinal purposes i have farily extensive background in that area but it was opium i was thinking of thank your for the correction. I have no side on the issue of drug control to tell you the truth. I have heard arguments for both side and generally agree with the natural side. sorry for the misunderstanding.

[pitohui]

24. pakistan is some distance from bolivia

be that as it may, yes, of course, many in usa would have been delighted to purchase the plants from bolivia or whoever else can raise them but our federal authorities do not agree

[Bridget Burke]

32. Pakistan is NOT in the chocolate business...

They don't grow cocoa plants. Neither do they grow coca plants.

[bemildred]

6. Sounds like a dangerous radical militant firebrand to me.

Darn, forgot to put"anti-American" in there. :spank:
Probably gives money to mooslim terrists too, maybe in
that tri-border region over in Paraguay.
And I'll bet that he will be "increasingly dictatorial"
soon too. Probably he will be "increasingly" a lot of
things soon.

[bbinacan]

7. I'm new to DU so forgive me

But what was his salary and what is it now? He's back in the palace. What are his other perks?

[IndianaGreen]

10. "born into poverty, rents a single room in a shared house"

Perks? Bolivia is not the USA, and Morales comes from the majority who are poor and are not white.

[Mojorabbit]

12. It's a perfectly reasonable question

He was renting a room. Just on a human interest level I also am interested in what the step up in salary and perks are. I am sure it will take a bit of getting used to for him if it is a big difference and there will be a transition time in acclimating.

[Judi Lynn]

15. He'll probably do just fine. Are you expecting "My Fair Lady?"

Is he too common to be the President? The people of Bolivia may disagree with you.

[Mojorabbit]

16. I am a realist

so please stop implying it is a class or race issue. If you threw me into a mansion and expected me to throw state dinners for visiting dignitaries (which will be part of his job description) I would be completely clueless. So yes I think there will be a major transition to be made and as I said before in a purely human interest way I would love to know the story on how big a move up it is for him. It is like a cinderella story. Chill out.

[Judi Lynn]

18. This man won't be clueless. He's bright enough.

He will also have a bit of help with things, just like other heads of state, so he doesn't have to do everything by himself.

The reason he was elected concerned his ideas, his convictions, and his determination to make things better for the majority of Bolivians who have been exploited and abused. There are far more important things for him to concern himself with than how some poster imagines he'll do socially.

The job is far more important than some appear to realize. BIG things at stake. NOW. His country has been through absolute hell, and has had to summons real courage to start fighting back. They've got far more on their minds than state dinners.

[Judi Lynn]

19. The pResident probably does dinners just fine, if you can stand to

look at and listen to him. People who don't like murderous liars probably couldn't stay in the same room with him.





Well balanced people are more interested in what people are thinking and saying. They would appreciate sharing time with someone they could respect.

Dignity, intelligence matter. Slickness doesn't. Slickness is cheap and phony, and unpleasant.

[Judi Lynn]

14. "BACK IN THE PALACE?" When was he in the PALACE before?

Why are you asking what his "perks" are? Why keep asking questions about what his salary was?

This doesn't make sense. What are you trying to insinuate? Why not be straightforward?

[bbinacan]

26. I'm not insinuating, just

trying to gauge the level of sacrifice.

[Judi Lynn]

29. Why mock and belittle his "sacrifice?"

Did he designate his decision to work for half the going salary a "sacrifice?" He was completely entitled to the salary as would any other elected President.

Why are you trying to hack away at this man in such a vague way? Don't you have anything real to criticize about him?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

30. No, he hasn't. See #20. -nt

[Judi Lynn]

34. They're just trying to kill time until a Bush "brain" can create a really

super bogus reason to hate/fear him. Right now, they're sitting on "empty," and they don't want the time to go by in which people might maintain neutral positions on the man until they learn more REAL information about him.

"Calling Otto Reich!"

[Bridget Burke]

33. Salary for the US President was increased in 2001

Bush gets $400,000 a year plus $50,000 for expenses. Previously, it had been $200,000.

This is the result of a couple minutes on Google. I'm sure you can find the answer to your question. Hint: use quotation marks. Searching for "president" & "salary" mostly got hits relating to salary decreases (or non-increases) for federal employees.

[Judi Lynn]

35. Thanks for the info. This wasn't publicized well, was it? Wonder why!

Will Evo Morales ever dance with Ricky? Will he ever shake what his mama gave him?
_Bush's "social" skills alone should be worth an extra quarter of a million bucks per year.

[ninkasi]

17. I wish Bolivia and Morales well...

The U.S. seems to feel an overwhelming need to meddle in other country's affairs, especially if the leaders are like Morales and Chavez, and try to lift the lower classes out of poverty. They have the...according to neocons...quaint beliefs that a country's wealth should be more evenly distributed, and that it's wrong to have a tiny fraction of incredibly wealthy people, and a majority mired in poverty and hopelessness.

We are more and more becoming like third world countries, with the ever-widening gap between the super rich and the rest of us. The middle class is shrinking, and the numbers of Americans living in poverty is increasing. Naturally, to Bush, men like Morales and Chavez are threats, because they show what leaders who care for the people do.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

20. I love when the "dirty socialists" do these kind of things.

There is absolutely no way, no how, none whatsoever, in which they can be dissed for that. You can hear the grinding of teeth from the anti-left morons, trying desperately to find SOME way to say something unflattering about the lefty person in question and not look like complete idiots.

I can even hear the fuming from those who couldn't bring themselves to post in this thread. Gee, isn't that a tragedy? :evilgrin:

[kalibex]

21. hehe

Well, they can always say, 'He's just doing it to look good!!' :evilgrin:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

31. Some dolts (now under 6 ft pizza) tried just that with the cheap oil thing

from Venezuela. They screamed, "HE IS JUST PANDERING FOR VOTES!!!"

Since "he" in this case was a DEMOCRATIC mayor, their anger wasn't exactly met with sympathy.

[IntiRaymi]

22. Salary Ranges

His original salary is in the vicinity of 27500 Bs a year.
At 8 Bs. to a dollar, you can get the idea that it amounts to doodley squat. Cutting that in half is like dividing zero by two, in my opinion. He has also drastically reduced an appropriation in the bolivian budget that had been used for the repressions during the gas wars.
If you recall, over 60 people were killed by the army during those events.

[pitohui]

23. he sounds like a terrific guy

is he the same one who campaigned on a policy to stop usa from defoliating coca plants? i have never liked the policy of flying over other people's countries and spraying them w. poisons

further my understanding is that people cannot live so well at the higher elevations in bolivia w.out the aid of the coca leaf

i've heard several visitors say that they were given a tea for atitude sickness they later learned had coca in it and it worked, in combination w. going a little lower of course

[pitohui]

25. oh and a side question

anyone here visited bolivia recently? would love to hear your stories, if you think this too lounge-y a question, private mail me or put a post in the lounge

[Clara T]

27. Bolivian President-Elect Takes Pay Cut

Bolivian president-elect takes pay cut

Thursday 29 December 2005, 5:00 Makka Time, 2:00 GMT  

Bolivia's socialist president-elect has announced that he and his cabinet will take a 50% pay cut so more staff can be hired for the education and health sectors.

Evo Morales, who won the recent presidential election, said late on Tuesday: "This is a democratic revolution and we will answer the Bolivian people's call.
"It's a question of sharing the country's situation among us all."

Morales, who has vowed to make multinationals pay more into the national economy and to raise Bolivia from its status as one of Latin America's poorest nations, won an 18 December election and will be inaugurated on 22 January. The 46-year-old coca grower and Aymara Indian said his future salary of about $3600 a month would be slashed to $1800

Cabinet ministers and all 157 members of Morales' Movement to Socialism party elected to Congress will also take a 50% pay cut, Morales said, adding that the salaries of 157 substitute congressmen - who take over the duties of lawmakers when they are absent - will be reduced to zero. 

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/10338ABE-2047-4565-8B15-4F35AC6ED138.htm

[IndianaGreen]

28. Bolivia Evo Morales for Equity (Prensa Latina)

Prensa Latina provides good coverage on news from Latin America without the prism of the American corporate media. Here is their coverage of this story:

Bolivia Evo Morales for Equity

La Paz, Dec 28 (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales intends to cut his wage and that of ministers, deputy ministers and lawmakers by 50 percent, as part of actions to change the economic neoliberal model prevailing in the nation.

"This is a democratic Revolution and we will respond from the government because we must share the economic burden among all of us," Morales told members of the Movement to Socialism (MAS) insisting that the country´s richness should be shared among all.

He called to work in fields such as education and promote a Cultural Revolution to improve the quality of life of people, a new social welfare system and an effective security program.

The MAS leader also hinted at implemented programs for political, economic and management decentralization, creation of the fourth power of the State against impunity and corruption and do away with the large estates.

According to his proposal, the montly presidential salary will be between 14,000 and 15,000 bolivianos (some 1,875 USD) and that of legislators will be of 9,000 bolivianos (1,125 USD).

PRENSA LATINA