MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Morales promises to change Bolivian history

Shortly after his inauguration Sunday as the first indigenous president of Bolivia, pledging to end “500 years of injustice” against his people, Evo Morales participated in a massive celebration party in downtown La Paz with a crowd estimated in 100.000.

Peasants, miners, coca leaf planters, indigenous groupings with their colourful flags, costumes, musical instruments and horns swarmed into the street party with different Andean groups playing and singing in the stage.

At mid afternoon Evo Morales, 46, had sworn as Bolivia's 65th president before Congress promising "to change our history" and to "recover" the country's natural resources by renationalizing them.

"I wish to tell you, my Indian brothers, that the 500-year indigenous and popular campaign of resistance has not been in vain" said Mr Morales, adding that "we're taking over now over the next 500 years. We're going to put an end to injustice, to inequality."

"When we talk about recovering the territory we are talking about recovering the natural resources, and these need to be in the hands of the Bolivian people and the Bolivian state" he said but acknowledging the magnitude of the task during his five-year term.

"The free-market model has not worked in Bolivia", therefore privatization of basic services and natural resources should be reversed. "Neo-liberal" economic policies of the past and the "looting of our natural resources" are responsible for the poverty that affects about two-thirds of Bolivians, mostly Indians.

Morales began his speech by asking for a minute of silence in memory of leaders who have fallen in Bolivia's struggle for justice and equality, including Manco Inca, Tupak Katari, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Luis Espinal and "many others."

Leaders attending Sunday's inauguration included Spain's Crown Prince Felipe; Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil; Javier Solana representing the European Union; Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who called Mr Morales "an emissary sent by God"; Argentina's Nestor Kirchner; Peru's Alejandro Toledo; Colombia's Alvaro Uribe and Chile's Ricardo Lagos, for whom Morales had a special mention.

The first Chilean leader to visit Bolivia in half a century, Mr. Morales in his speech highlighted the gesture calling for an end to the enmity "between friendly and neighbouring countries" and trusting that the "standing historic issue with Chile can be solved".

Bolivia is landlocked since 1879 after having been engaged in alliance with Peru, in an armed conflict with Chile which they lost. Bolivia insists in claiming its Pacific outlet from Chile and both countries have no official diplomatic relations since 1978.

"I trust the Chilean people, its social organizations and the country's understanding to solve this pending historic issue we have with Chile", said Mr. Morales.

"How long can we live in enmity with a neighbouring country?" added Morales, who anticipated he would reciprocate by going to Santiago de Chile for elected president Michelle Bachelet taking office ceremony next March.

Mr. Morales is the first president to be elected by a landslide, 54%, in Bolivia's recent history of democracy and will be supported by a virtually rookie Congress since of the 157 members only 10% were returned.

Born in 1959 in Orinoca, a remote highland mining town Morales and his Aymara Indian family scraped out a precarious living; he worked as a llama shepherd, baker, brick maker, trumpeter, football coach and referee, among other jobs.

In the eighties he migrated to the coca plantations of Chapare where soon he became the leader of the peasants' movement and in 1995 founded the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). His rise to power began with his high-profile opposition to U.S.-funded eradication of coca, the plant used to make cocaine. "Long live coca, death to the gringos," was his slogan.

He was first elected to Congress in 1997 as representative of Cochabamba province, the Congress member with highest support of his generation.

He was ousted from Congress in 2002 but that same year was presidential candidate and managed 22.5% of the national vote.

As head of the opposition Morales and his indigenous organizations, blocking the country's road traffic with barricades, played a crucial role in the ousting of former presidents Sanchez de Lozada and Carlos Mesa.