Bolivia 'ending 500 years of foreign exploitation'
Bolivian President Evo Morales has defended the decision to nationalise his country’s gas and energy sectors, saying before summit talks begin today with European and Latin American leaders that it was a necessary move to end 500 years of foreign exploitation.
Morales is among 58 leaders from the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean gathering in the Austrian capital for three days of annual talks on strengthening economic and political ties.
But trade and energy are dominating summit talks and creating new rifts in the wake of Bolivia’s decision May 1 to nationalise its gas and energy sectors and Morales’ ultimatum to foreign firms to negotiate new contracts within six months - or leave the resource-rich country.
The EU, as well as other South American nations such as Brazil, have been critical of Morales’ decision and concerned about growing protectionism in Bolivia and Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez, announced last weekend that he would introduce a new tax targeting foreign oil companies.
Morales said Bolivia’s nationalisation of its energy sector was justified and necessary to fight poverty, adding that nationalisation also would extend to land, minerals and forestry resources.
“For more than 500 years, our resources have been pillaged. This has to end now,” Morales told a news conference yesterday. “What we are looking for ... are partners – not bosses to exploit our natural resources.”
“Before Bolivia was considered to be a no-mans land. Now it belongs to its own people, particularly its indigenous peoples,” Morales said. “We are about to defend our territory, defend our natural resources. The only way to combat poverty is by recovering our natural resources.”
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, whose country holds the EU presidency, said that energy security and cooperation on sharing resources “is an urgent issue to discuss in our relationship.”
She said EU leaders would today ask Morales for clarification on how European investments would be affected by Bolivia’s nationalisation of its gas and energy sectors. ”We need legal security and confidence because these are the core topics for investors,” Plassnik said.
Foreign oil firms have invested more than 3.5 billion dollars in Bolivia since 1996. Morales has accused foreign oil firms of acting illegally, saying dozens of contracts secretly negotiated without congressional approval were unconstitutional and warning that firms may not be compensated for their Bolivian assets.
Other issues to be discussed at the summit include better political cooperation and improving co-ordination to fight poverty and the drugs trade.
Leaders also were to launch free-trade talks with the Central American countries – Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner called on Latin American nations “to express clearly what they can and what they want to offer” in forging closer ties with the EU.
Plassnik said leaders would back a summit declaration asserting the “sovereign right of the countries to manage and regulate their natural resources.” It stresses however, that European and Latin American nations must agree to “continue and strengthen ... cooperation with a view to establishing a balanced trade framework.”
Plassnik said no country “wants to be dictated to as to what energy sources it relies upon on what it’s energy mix should be,” but added “we are all concerned about the security of energy supplies (and) access to energy.”
