updated 3 hours, 28 minutes ago
Bolivian president censures United States
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday said the United States has tried to thwart his political ambitions and, more recently, failed to condemn a pro-autonomy movement that uses "terrorist" tactics.
The 48-year-old Morales, in an address to the United Nations General Assembly, described privatization as the cause of the world's financial crisis, and credited his nationalization of Bolivia's petroleum industry as a boon to the nation's economy.
"In 2005, before I was president, the state of Bolivia had only $300 million from hydrocarbons," he said. "Last year, 2007, the Bolivian state -- after the nationalization, after changing the law -- Bolivia received $1,930 million. For a small country with nearly 10 million inhabitants, this allows us to increase the national economy."
Morales, the nation's first indigenous president, cited "a permanent conspiracy" among pro-autonomy, largely white groups in four eastern petroleum-rich areas, or "departments," that oppose his efforts to redistribute some of their wealth to poorer areas of the country.
He noted that he acceded to his critics' demands that he hold a referendum on his popularity and was vindicated, winning it last month with an overwhelming 67 percent of the vote.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/23/bolivia.morales/index.html