Lula da Silva absent from Bolivia’s Morales taking office ceremony

Tuesday, January 19th 2010 - 01:57 UTC

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Evo Morales hydrocarbons policies are not well received in Brazil

Brazilian president Lula da Silva will not be participating this week at Bolivia’s Evo Morales taking office ceremony. He will be represented by his foreign affairs advisor Marco Aurelio García, according to Valor Economico, a financial publication from Sao Paulo.

“Lula da Silva could change of idea, but in principle he will not be going to the ceremony; he believes he’s already helped the Bolivian president re-election by openly supporting him. He's willing to go back to La Paz when there are treaties to be signed”, according to Valor quoting “reliable” sources close to Planalto,

Marco Aurelio has several meetings planed with top officials from the Morales administration to consider and assess such sensitive issues as the drugs trade and arms smuggling.

Brazil’s Defence and Justice Ministries are particularly concerned with the increase of drugs coming into the country since President Morales expelled the US Drugs Enforcement Agency, DEA, from Bolivia.

Another pending issue is the signing of several agreements between La Paz and Brasilia for their enactment at the end of this year and beginning of 2011, which is after President Lula da Silva leaves office.

Brazil is also waiting for the final draft of the Hydrocarbons bill before it confirms investment plans in the area. Bolivia’s leading export is natural gas and Brazil the country’s main client. But both countries have clashed over the nationalization policies of President Morales that included much of the assets and investments made by Petrobras in Bolivia.

Besides the Brazilian company Brasken has plans to invest over 2 billion US dollars in Bolivia in the coming five years. Brasken with its 18 plants in Brazil produces 11 million tons annually of thermoplastic resins and basic petrochemicals.

Categories: Politics, Brazil, Latin America.

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Dustinsc
If you're going to publish in English, get a better translator. This thing is riddled with errors that make it difficult to read.

Also, I hope this means Lula is realizing it may not be the best idea to keep such close ties with truly leftist leaders. Lula's an opportunist, which is probably good for Brazil, so he doesn't want to look like he's too close to any one bloc of countries.
Jan 19th, 2010 - 08:16 am 0
gong
Dustinsc !
english is not our native language ..please compulse yourself
and think to undestand us .
you say ........he's too close to any one bloc of countries.....
but you would say as ...Lula seems as an ideal independent .
more basic and productive sentence .
Jan 20th, 2010 - 02:39 am 0
Bubba
Lula is just really pissed off that Bolivia is more than willing and able to stuff cocaine into every orifice that Brazil has open... and Evo could care less about the effect it has on his neighbors society, just as long as the cocaleros can keep picking leaves and drink beer...
Jan 24th, 2010 - 12:33 pm 0

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