USAID Booted from Bolivia
on charges of conspiracy
Ricardo Marapi Salas
HAVANA TIMES – Bolivian President Evo Morales announced the expulsion of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) during celebrations for International Workers’ Day, held before Bolivia’s Presidential Palace yesterday, May 1st.
Bolivia’s leader accused USAID of “continuing to plot” and carry out political activities against the Bolivian government, as he said the U.S. Embassy in the country had done before.
“We’ve decided to expel USAID from Bolivia. The United States Embassy will be notified immediately,” Morales announced during his address.
USAID had allegedly intervened in the political affairs of Bolivian peasant unions and social organizations. Morales declared that USAID is “a mechanism that still operates with a mentality of domination, of subjugation.”
USAID had been operating in Bolivia since 1964. The Bolivian president affirmed that USAID was developing a number of programs in the country, but that these “had political, not social, objectives.” He added that it “manipulated” and “used” union leaders through these programs. (PULSAR)
My “cock-a-mamey ideas” which you attack are a sincere and patriotic effort to define, and hopefully advance toward, a post-monopoly-capitalist, post-monopoly-bank society, for my country and others.
Lately, I’ve begun to see such a society as a form of “social capitalism.” That is, a society in which the entrepreneur is honored and patriotically utilized by society for economic and social leadership, but where neither the banks nor the corporations are monopolized by private buccaneers.
A synonym for such a post-monopoly form of capitalism would be “authentic socialism.”
Such a society, in theory, might avoid the negatives of both monopoly capitalism and state monopoly socialism.
But I don’t see you, Moses, as a person who can think creatively for the future of either our country or the world–at least, not yet. You seem stuck in a jingoistic, John Foster Dulles mindset which disallows any sort of creative, problem-solving exchange of ideas.
Even so, you’re right that personal attacks are wrong and should be avoided.
Your cock-a-mamey upholding of US imperialism may be incomprehensible and repugnant to me, but I’m glad you’re here to represent the other side. If you’re ever in L.A. and have an extra hour or two, let’s have a beer and slug it out . . . verbally, of course.
Grady, public figures are fair game. Evo (rhymes with Bozo) has choses to put himself out there is the public space. Moreover, by virtue of his public pronouncements, it is hard not to judge this guy. As for other extreme leftists, to paraphrase my youngest son “They started it!”. These jokers make a career of name-calling and creating boogeymen of the US, Europe and the transnational corporations. I am simply returning the favor. As far as I know, Lula da Silva, Rousseff, Fernandez, Correa and other leftists of their distinction have not resorted to this banal practice so they are spared the tit-for-tat. But the Castros, Morales, Noriega, Chavez and now Maduro are all culprits and therefore fair game. For what it’s worth, I was just, if not more so, critical of the Bush-Quayle team during their reign. On the other hand, I have never questioned your intelligence or integrity. I attack your cock-a-mamey ideas but personal attacks are beneath me. I hope you will grow to share my thoughts in this regard.
Moses, you have just called President Evo a “bozo,” and someone not “up to the task intellectually.” Man! Talk about someone who doesn’t defend his position with cogent arguments, but resorts instead to personal attacks!
You (and your co-thinkers) spend your time in ad hominem attacks on leftist leaders, rather than sticking with the issues.
The aspersions you cast on Evo are hand-in-glove with the whole US State Dept. campaign to discredit personally any Latin leader who tries to counter US hegemony in the region. This indicates, of course, the nature of your game.
BTW, the Diario de Cuba link you gave me doesn’t work, but thanks anyway.
The man is such a populist. He is riding the “Look at me! I’m an anti-imperialist for the people!” approach which seems to be back in fashion rather than doing something, you know, productive.
Grady, by his own admission, he NEVER read. No one, except you, thinks this bozo is up to the task intellectually. Now here’s the proof. I assume that you read:
http://www.diariodecuba.com/internacional/1367658755_3091.html
Oh, please, Moses. You slurred President Evo Morales in arrogant, imperialistic language. Are you now surprised that your countryman took offense?
You ought to be singing Evo’s praises for fighting for his people, instead of implying that his mental capacity is below that of “an intellectual.”
And what’s this “can’t defend your position” crappola? Your constant “position” is to spew personal defamation against any leader who is not a traitor to his or her country, and a bootlicker of the US state department.
So what?
When you can’t defend your position with cogent arguments, you resort to personal attacks. I choose to criticize these public actors and sometimes I will comment on your ideas, but never on you personally.
Maybe you don’t buy it, but more and more Brazilians are. Justin Bieber could not be more popular and the movie Iron Man 3 just opened in Rio breaking previous records. Jus’ sayin….
As Moses–a man who is unlikely ever to have been accused of being either a progressive or an intellectual–has implied, banishing USAID is not likely to stop US operatives from intervening in Bolivia’s affairs, but it will make such disgusting slime-balls ooze further back into the shadows.
We appreciate Moses’s virtual admission of the truth about US imperialist operatives. He apparently knows about such things.
BTW, not only is Evo an intellectual; he is also a great and historic leader of his people. I fear this is something that our friend Moses will never understand.
Oh sure. ‘Alleged’ is not the right word to describe ‘US intervention in Latin America’. How does the word ‘Monroe Doctrine’ sounds to you? A fairy-tale? Stop that Uncle Sam. We don’t buy your hollywoodian view of world view anymore.
The fact that he chose his May Day speech to announce his actions belies the time-worn tactic by socialist leaders to use the American bogeyman as a rallying cry to unite the people. Morales, never having been accused of being an intellectual, is facing a little domestic heat for his recent sleight of hand to extend his time in office. Banishing USAID will do nothing to stem the alleged intervention of US operatives in Bolivia’s internal affairs. If anything, it will simply make these activities lurk farther into the shadows. Surely, even Morales knows this.