Rapproachement as Morales Challenges Obama

(digitalwarriormedia) A Bolivian delegation was in Washington D.C. last week to meet with U.S. State Department representatives as both countries negotiate a framework for reestablishing diplomatic ties.

It was the second meeting between the governments, whom have maintained fragile relations since the expulsion of their respective ambassadors in September 2008.

On Tuesday during a post-meeting press conference, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanaca told reporters, “We are close to reaching a framework agreement to achieve a constructive relationship."

Undersecretary for Democracy and International Affairs, Maria Otero called the ongoing talks a mechanism for seeking common ground in all areas of shared interest. “I am pleased with the progress,” said Otero, indicating that she looked forward to an agreement between the two countries in the near future.

The Bolivian government showed optimism for an improved relationship under the Obama administration. "Not everyone thinks alike. We all think differently. The challenge is to build good relations while accepting our differences," said Choquehuanca.

Despite these steps forward, Bolivia maintained its skepticism of U.S. policies within Bolivia and the Latin American region.

Over the weekend, President Morales rejected the military agreement signed between the U.S. and Colombia on Friday that grants the U.S. access to seven military bases and an increase of 1,400 personnel to fight local drug trafficking and “terrorists”.

Morales said this agreement is contrary to the progressive governments in South America and will not “guarantee security in the region.”

He questioned how President Obama could justify his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize while operating military bases in foreign countries such as Colombia. He criticized the U.S. supported military bases in Honduras that are empowering the coup instead of reinstating the democratically elected government.

Morales said Latin America is no longer “in the time of kings” and that “we cannot be in the time of American military bases.” He called on Obama to adjust the U.S. attitude towards Latin America as the region is living in a time of profound – yet democratic – change.

Nonetheless, while addressing specifically the meetings that took place in Washington, Morales expressed expectations that Bolivia and the U.S. will reach a “Draft Framework” and the normalization of the U.S. Embassy in La Paz in the coming months. "If the U.S. Embassy is meeting for diplomatic work and not for political work," said Morales, then his country can afford to have a U.S. embassy in Bolivia again.

The Bolivian government has long maintained that the U.S. meddled in Bolivia’s domestic affairs, even going as far as to operate an elite unit within Bolivia’s military and maintaining an "unofficial" office within the governmental palace in La Paz.

U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg was expelled in September 2008 following meetings held with the political opposition in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Morales declared Goldberg a “persona non grata” under suspicion that he was collaborating with opposition forces during a time of intense and sometimes violent political clashes. In retaliation, Bolivian Ambassador to the U.S. Gustavo Guzman was expelled.

Beyond normalizing diplomatic relations, other areas that will be addressed in the upcoming agreement are cooperation on drug trafficking and Bolivia’s status under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). Bolivia’s trade benefits under ATPDEA were suspended by the Bush Administration in December 2008.

A U.S. delegation will travel to La Paz in November as talks on both sides continue.

Sources: ABI, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, MultiVu, Telesur

ALBA Abandons Greenback, Endorses Regional Commitments

(digitalwarriormedia)– The Seventh Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) Summit concluded on Saturday in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean signed a final declaration that supports the legitimate government of Honduras, creates a new regional currency and calls for respect for Mother Earth.

Hosted by Bolivia’s Evo Morales, the presidents attending ALBA were: Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), prime ministers Roosevelt Skerrit (Dominica); Ralph Gonsalves (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines); and Baldwin Spencer (Antigua and Barbuda), as well as Vice President of the Council of Ministers Jose Ramon Machado (Cuba).

ALBA member countries invited delegations from Paraguay, Uruguay, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Russia to attend as summit observers.

ALBA was created in 2004, as an initiative between Cuba and Venezuela. The brain-child of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the regional bloc emerged as a trade alternative to the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA or ALCA in Spanish).

In 2006, Bolivia’s Morales proposed the People’s Trade Agreement (PTA) – a treaty that is based upon cooperation and reciprocity with respect for the well being of people, their history and cultures. The PTA rejects the trade liberalization policies of the FTAA and is considered the cornerstone of trade agreements within ALBA.

Regional In(ter)dependence

In their declaration, the nine-nation bloc committed to greater regional economic integration and increased independence from U.S. trade influence, spearheaded by the creation of a regional currency - the Sistema Único de Compensación Regional (Unified System of Regional Compensation) or sucre.

The sucre will go into effect in 2010 and may eventually develop into a regional currency similar to the euro – enabling trade within the bloc as well as with non-member countries. It would be used in commercial exchanges between ALBA countries in order to gradually reduce dependency on the U.S. dollar.

When SUCRE was approved at an ALBA meeting in April, Chavez said, “This will help us to overthrow the dictatorship of the dollar, imposed on us from over there, from Bretton Woods."

The proposed compensation system will also establish a regional monetary council, central clearinghouse, and a regional reserve and emergency fund.

According to Bolivian Finance Minister Luis Arce, there are plans for the group to develop an import-export business (Alba Exim), an agriculture business (Alba Alimentos), and also an energy company.

Bloomberg reports Arce’s announcement that the companies will seek “sovereignty and the development of food security in all member countries.”

International Priorities

Leaders demanded the return of democratically elected Honduran President Manuel Zalaya and resolved that ALBA members will deny any representatives of the de facto government to enter their respective countries.

The group approved new economic sanctions against the current government of Honduras led by Robert Micheletti. They called on the international community to reject the upcoming presidential election planned by the interim government in November.

Colombia's plan to extend use of its bases to the U.S. military was denounced."The government of Colombia must reconsider the installation of these military bases,” read the member statement, calling it a threat to the region's security.

ALBA member countries also unanimously adopted a special resolution to reject the U.S. embargo against Cuba.

President Morales called for the establishment of an "International Tribunal of Climate Justice" to hold rich countries responsible for paying damages that stemmed from their disproportionate consumption of fossil fuels.

A joint resolution from ALBA member countries will be taken to the summit on climate change that will be held in Copenhagen this December.

Including the Grassroots

One of ALBA's more unique features is the status permitted to social organizations of member countries.

During the Fifth ALBA Summit in 2007, members accepted a new organizational structure which created a space for the inclusion of social movements and grassroots participation in decision-making.

The revised ALBA model consists of a Council of ALBA Presidents, a Council of ALBA Ministers and a Council of Social Movements.

On Thursday, more than 700 delegates from social and indigenous movements across Latin America gathered for the First Summit of the ALBA Council of Social Movements, according to Cuba’s Radio Nuevitas.

Joined by representatives from 40 European, African and Asian countries, the social organizations met to draft priorities and guidelines on subjects such as climate change, autonomies, defense of the planet, and natural resources. Their recommendations were presented to heads of delegations from member countries on Saturday.

Thousands of social movement representatives joined in the summit’s closing ceremony at the Felix Capriles Stadium in Cochabamba where the final declaration was presented.

The most recent ALBA Summit was the fourth meeting held by the body this year. The next meeting is scheduled for December in Cuba.



Photos: ABI, Telesur

Bolivia....An Island of Economic Stability

(digitalwarriormedia) Three and a half years after the ascension of the Movement Toward Socialism party (MAS) and the election of President Evo Morales, state participation in the national economy has increased and the central government’s influence in private enterprises continues to rise.

According to Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera the state's participation in the national economy has grown three-fold.

"In 2005… the state {was} involved with 8 or 9% of the country's wealth. Today, in 2009, the Bolivian state, participates…with about 27% to 28% of the country's economy," Garcia Linera said in an interview with the Patria Nueva radio network on Sunday.

There are domestic and foreign business interests who caution that Bolivia’s economic approach is scaring off foreign investment. Private investment as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remains among the lowest in Latin America.

However Bolivia’s economic and fiscal policies - including greater state intervention - are shielding Bolivia’s economy during the global economic downturn.

Bolivia’s Economic Outlook

It is among the least developed countries in Latin America and poorest in per capita GDP, but under pressure of the current world credit crisis, Bolivia’s economy is faring better than other nations, even with inflation reaching almost 12% and a national unemployment rate at 7.5%.

Its economy grew over 6% last year and is likely to be among the few countries in the region to register positive growth in 2009, according to Moody's Investor Service. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) forecasts 3% growth for Bolivia this year, with the International Monetary Fund predicting a more conservative 2.2% increase.

With $7.8 billion in foreign reserves - now close to 50% of GDP - and government savings that surpass 10% of GDP, Bolivia is “well-positioned to manage any foreseeable economic or financial challenges in the near future," said Gabriel Torres, a Moody's vice president and sovereign analyst for Bolivia.

One of the most significant policies impacting the health of government coffers was the passage of legislation that nationalized Bolivia’s hydrocarbon industry in May 2006. This mandated a renegotiation of oil and gas contracts which drew higher royalties and taxes from multinational energy companies operating in Bolivia.

A boom in commodity prices, which brought higher revenues for hydrocarbon and mining exports, also drove the national current account balance into a financial surplus over the past three years, after years of substantial deficits. Last year, Bolivia’s exports reached a record $6.2 billion – with the caveat that this number was driven by high prices, not necessarily greater productivity.

Fiscal accounts are expected to deteriorate for 2009, as extensive drops in commodity prices continue this year. Bolivia’s economy is heavily dependent upon export of its commodities from its energy, mining and agriculture sectors. Almost 70%of Bolivian exports in 2008 were either natural gas or minerals (zinc, tin and silver).

There is also the significant drop in remittances from Bolivians working overseas. That number is expected to contract 50% from $1 billion in 2008 to around $500 million this year.

But there are still good economic indicators going into the 4th quarter of 2009.

In September Bolivia received a boost when Spain agreed to write off $80 million in debt. Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero said 60% will be cancelled outright and the remaining 40% deposited into a fund for education projects.

While in Madrid, President Morales met with executives of Spanish oil giant Repsol. And despite ongoing claims that Bolivia is scaring off private investment Repsol has indicated plans to boost its investments in Bolivia.

Also last month, both Moody’s and Fitch Ratings announced that Bolivia’s bond rating was being raised as debt levels remain low and political tension within the country has eased.

On Monday, Jindal Steel and Power began mining iron ore in Bolivia’s El Mutun mine, after initially securing rights in 2006. With reserves of 40 billion tons, El Mutun is one of the world’s biggest iron ore mines. Although small quantities will be exported for the next 4-5 years to neighboring countries such as Paraguay and Argentina, Jindal has committed $2.1 billion investment over the next 8 years to mine up to 20 billion tons and build a steel making facility.

With some of the greatest reserves of natural gas, iron ore and lithium in the world, Bolivians are well aware of the vast natural resources that fall within their national borders.

Over the weekend, President Morales pledged his resolve to continue the process of change taking place in Bolivia – driven largely by the country’s reclamation of its resources and a redistribution of national wealth into social programs.

"an issue ....specific to climate change"

UNITED NATIONS, September 22 – During a press conference at United Nations Headquarters this morning, Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma Of Bolivia declared that “capitalist lifestyles” were at the root of climate change problems, as he discussed key proposals to protect the environment and bring to justice those who contributed to pollution.

Evo Morales, says his country will push for the founding of an international "green" tribunal to punish nations, corporations and multinational companies that harm the environment.

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"an issue ....specific to climate change" @ Yahoo! Video

"A climate change tribunal for the administration of justice must be created in order to discipline those who fail to recognize the error of their ways. This is why Copenhagen will be very interesting in terms of discussing such issues. This is an issue that is specific to climate change."

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Morales' proposal is one of hundreds of contentious ideas still outstanding in the run-up to the December international climate change conference to be held in Copenhagen

In addition the global push to address man made changes to the weather-- Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Morales pledged on Monday to further develop the friendly cooperative relations between the two countries.

During his meeting with Morales, Hu said that thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, both countries have pushed forward bilateral relations in recent years, and cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, culture, education, science and technology and sports has produced fruitful results.

China attaches great importance to developing its friendly cooperative relations with Bolivia, and is ready to work with the Bolivian side to further develop relations between the two countries, he said.

The Chinese president put forth a four-point proposal on the further development of China-Bolivia relations.

Bolivia Upgrades Bond Ratings As Economy Remains Stable

Fitch Ratings raised its grade on Bolivia by one notch as the country has seen its economy remain stable despite "political and social turbulence."

The South American country is split among geographic and ethnic lines, with President Evo Morales seen as a champion by poor and largely indigenous people. In Bolivia's wealthier low-lying eastern states, resident there have felt threatened by Morales' efforts to redistribute farmland and natural gas revenues.

"Although resurgent political pressures" ahead of December's election "could combine with the deteriorating economic environment to result in renewed civil unrest, this is not expected to derail macroeconomic stability," said Fitch analyst Casey Reckman. The approval of a new constitution in January eased some tensions, Fitch noted, while "increased discretionary public spending and conditional cash transfers may continue to mitigate social pressures arising from economic deceleration and declining remittances."

Fitch noted Bolivia has been able to navigate slumping commodity prices and exports while "limited foreign participation in Bolivia's banking system as well as the absence of toxic assets or sizable international funding has shielded the country from fallout from the global crisis through direct financial channels."

Despite increased spending by the Morales administration, Bolivia's government has continued to run surpluses.

Fitch now has Bolivia rated at B, five steps into junk territory. The ratings outlook in stable.

By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires

Agents have raided the biggest cocaine lab in Bolivia

Bolivian drug enforcement agents have raided the biggest cocaine lab ever found in the country, BBC reports. The lab was able to produce up to 220 pounds of the drug a day.

The government described the raid as the most important success against drug traffickers for a long time.
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The factory is the fourth major facility of its kind to be discovered so far in 2009, Bolivian authorities say.

VIDEO: BBC

Obama Treating Bolivia Like Bush

(digitalwarriormedia) President Barack Obama decided to maintain a suspension of Bolivia's preferred trade status - a move that has cost the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, $25 million in annual trade benefits and potentially 20,000 jobs.

In a report released by the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday, the Obama Administration outlined its reasons for refusing Bolivian exporters duty free access to U.S. markets under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act.

The ATPDEA program was enacted in 1991 to encourage four Andean nations - Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru - to cooperate with the U.S. in drug eradication and counter-trafficking efforts.

However, the U.S. cited several reasons - not exclusively related to Bolivian drug policy - to justify the continuation of a suspension instituted by the Bush Administration last October.

In addition to criticizing Bolivia's coca growing policy - the report named Bolivia's nationalization of its hydrocarbon sector, withdrawal from the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and a new five-tier tariff strategy as other determining factors.

On Wednesday, President Morales accused Obama of lying about his pledge to change U.S. policy towards Latin America. "President Obama lied to Latin America when he told us in Trinidad and Tobago that there are not senior and junior partners," wrote Carlos Valdez of the Associated Press. He continued by stating that the report contained "pure lies and insults".

President Obama had until June 30 to determine whether trade preferences should be reinstated. Bolivia's ATPDEA preferences expired on December 15, 2008 and can only be reinstated by the President.

This recent decision by the U.S. government will likely effect the progress of normalizing diplomatic relations with Bolivia. Both countries had commenced efforts to reestablish diplomatic ties after their respective ambassadors were expelled in September 2008.

Last week, the Bolivian government announced it would provide an additional $8 million to a state fund designed to aid exporters impacted by loss of ATPDEA benefits.

Zionist Media Targets Bolivian Muslims

(digitalwarriormedia) As Iran reels domestically from the contested results of last week’s national election, an effort to taint public opinion towards Bolivia and its relationship with the Muslim world continues.

Most recently the U.S. right-wing media jefe Fox News published an article claiming Bolivia is becoming a hotbed of Islamic extremism. The article cites a report by the Open Source Center (OSC) of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The OSC report claims that the U.S. intelligence community is concerned with anti-American sentiments coming from “Muslim leaders” living in Bolivia. The article goes on to mention Bolivia’s cozy relationship with Iran.

Despite the fact that Muslims account for 1,000 of Bolivia’s 9.7 million inhabitants and anti-U.S. sentiment can be found in most sectors of Bolivian society, U.S. officials and terror experts are keeping a watchful eye on the situation.

The OSC disseminates reports based upon public information which includes “gray literature”. Gray literature is not commercially published and thereby prone to lack proper sourcing and editorial control, says the Association of College & Research Libraries.

Therefore the associations cited in the OSC report between Muslim leaders in Bolivia and fellow Islamists in other parts of the world - namely Iran and Palestine - may or may not have been properly vetted. Other commentary in the Fox News.com article came from a U.S. intelligence official speaking anonymously and a Latin American analyst at the (neoconservative) Heritage Foundation.

President Evo Morales has been widely criticized for close diplomatic and economic ties with Iran. Lately that criticism has materialized into U.S. and Israeli intelligence reports asserting covert activity between the two countries.

In May the AP reported that Bolivia and Venezuela were supplying Iran with uranium for its nuclear program. This information was based solely upon a 3-page report coming out of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Both the Bolivian and Venezuelan governments denied these accusations. Although Bolivia does have uranium deposits, according to Mining Minister Luis Alberto Echazu, Bolivia has no mining capability of the material.

Bolivia severed diplomatic relations with Israel in January over the bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 1,000 Palestinian civilians.

Massacre in the Andes

(digitalwarriormedia) The Bolivian government expressed its concern for the people of Peru, following a violent clash between indigenous protesters and Peru’s national police on Friday.

During a press conference on Monday, Vice President Álvaro García Linera condemned the tragic events that left at least 40 people dead when heavily armed police were ordered to clear about 2,500 Aguaruna and Wampi natives from an Amazon highway blockade near Bagua.

The actual number of dead and wounded is not completely clear. Telesur indicated at least 30 indigenous people were killed and 11 police officers, however Amnesty International put the number of police killed on Friday at 22.

According to the Associated Press ,“it was Peru's worst political violence since the Shining Path guerrillas(sic) were quelled in the mid-1990s.”

Amazon Watch, citing eyewitnesses, reports that the police opened fire on the peaceful protesters from helicopters, burned bodies of the dead and removed wounded people from the hospital - taking them to undisclosed locations.

The Confederation of Bolivian Peasant Workers (CSUTCB) expressed its solidarity with their brethren in Peru.

"We sympathize with our brothers who are suffering massacres by helicopter, by land," said Isaac Avalos, executive secretary of the CSUTCB.

"These farmers, they are Aymaras, they are Quechuas - original peoples who are dying by the bullets of the Peruvian government and we cannot go to reinforce them, but from here {we offer} our support, our solidarity from the social movements in Bolivia."

According to ABI, campesinos in Bolivia and Ecuador declared Friday’s events against Peru’s native population a genocide and have warned about a regional “project of death” against indigenous people.

Indigenous social organizations in Bolivia have asked Andrés Andrago, the president pro tempore of the Consultative Council of Indigenous Peoples of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), to convene an emergency meeting in La Paz to address the events in Peru.

The standoff began April 9 when 65 indigenous tribes took to the roads and rivers in Peru’s Amazon region and took over oil facilities in order to repeal decrees approved by the administration of President Alan Garcia. Over 30,000 indigenous people have protested against the decrees, passed with “fast track” authority, that will enable oil, mining and timber companies to extract resources from native land without the consent of indigenous inhabitants.

Bolivia Seeks Progressive Framework with U.S.

LA PAZ (digitalwarriormedia) Next month officials from Bolivia and the U.S. will meet in Washington D.C. to refine a framework agreement aimed at re-initiating bilateral relations, Bolivia's UN Ambassador Pablo Solon said on Saturday.

The date of the meeting has yet to be determined for the next phase of restoring normalized diplomacy between the two countries.

According to Solon the framework agreement could be ready by the June meeting, as the document contains only 10 main points. However, the ambassador indicated that a third meeting may be necessary.

Reporting by ABI shows the document outlines progressive ideals such as “absolute respect for human rights and fundamental respect for the diversity of approaches to political, economic, social and cultural rights, promoting peace and nonviolence, social justice, equitable development and harmony with nature for a sustainable development,” in addition to unrestricted respect for domestic law, sovereignty and the self-determination of peoples.

Last week, a high-level delegation led by US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon traveled to La Paz for a two-day meeting where Bolivia delivered its proposal for mending ties.

Relations between the two countries, which deteriorated precipitously in September of last year, are finally on the road to recovery with the cooperation of a new administration in the White House.

Main issues that must be resolved between both nations are the increase of trade, cooperation in combating drug trafficking and the extradition of former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and two of his former deputies who currently reside in the U.S. and are wanted to face charges of genocide in Bolivia’s Supreme Court.

Last week during Shannon’s visit, President Morales expressed his desire to re-establish relations with the U.S., but only if they were based on mutual respect.

While visiting Bolivia in early May, former President Jimmy Carter expressed hope for increased diplomacy and said he expected an exchange of ambassadors in the coming months, possibly as early as June.

Photos: ABI and AP

Mending Broken Fences

LA PAZ (digitalwarriormedia) Bolivia and the U.S. have committed to increase cooperation and re-establish bilateral relations following a two-day meeting in La Paz this week.

It was the first high-level face-to-face in almost a year. And it marked a turning point in a relationship that reached an unprecedented level of tension when ambassadors from each country were expelled in September 2008.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon led a delegation that arrived in La Paz on Wednesday and included members from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

On the agenda was the creation of a new framework to govern commitments between the two countries which have been operating under an agreement first signed in 1951. The Bolivian government presented the delegation with a draft document of guiding principles for improving relations, stated the Associated Press.

Much has changed within Bolivia over the decades, but in particular since Evo Morales became the country’s first indigenous president in 2006.

“After having problems in the past few years... the government and I hope that bilateral relations with the United States will improve," Morales said after the talks with Shannon at the Presidential Palace on Thursday. The delegation also met with Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca and Presidential Minister Juan Ramon Quintana.

Morales has been a vocal critic of U.S. policy in Bolivia exercised by the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, as well as the activities of USAID and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

When Morales expelled U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg in September, it was on the heels of a scandal that implicated the Embassy in recruiting Peace Corps volunteers to spy on Cuban and Venezuelan nationals working in Bolivia.

Goldberg was declared persona non grata after meeting with Rubén Costas, governor of Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department and a key figure in an opposition movement seeking unilateral autonomy from the central government.

Morales said moving forward that relations with the U.S. “must not be based on subjugation or subordination or political meddling; we must have relations based on respect.”

During a joint press conference with Shannon on Thursday, Minister Quintana said the meetings also addressed increasing trade between the two countries, in particular through the reinstatement of trade preferences for Bolivia under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act.

Preferences were allowed to expire by the Bush Administration after Morales indefinitely suspended cooperation with the DEA’s anti-drug operations in Bolivia. Morales maintains that the DEA will not return to their territory, but that Bolivia is committed to share responsibility with furthering anti-drug trafficking measures.

The other major pillar of discussions was the extradition of former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and two of his ministers who currently reside in the United States but are wanted to stand trial on charges of genocide for ordering military attacks that left 67 people dead in 2003.

Quintana said the U.S. delegation committed to streamline the procedures involved in the extradition process. A Bolivian commission will travel to the U.S. to meet with the Department of Justice and the State Department to assist with these arrangements. The trial against Goni and his ministers began in Bolivian Supreme Court this week.

Shannon characterized these meetings as a “good start”. However neither side gave a date for when their ambassadors would return to Washington and La Paz.

This high-level delegation marks the first move in a series of steps needed to eventually normalize U.S.-Bolivia relations, demonstrating that the Obama administration is serious about improving ties with Latin America and that a small country like Bolivia can maintain its national dignity on the world stage.

Sources: ABI, Los Tiempos, BBC, AP

Photos: Los Tiempos

Change on the Horizon -- Improved Diplomacy

A high-level delegation from the United States will arrive in La Paz on Wednesday to hold the first official meeting aimed at restoring diplomatic relations with Bolivia.

While speaking on state television TVB on Sunday, Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said discussions will center on creating a new framework between the two countries.

According to Choquehuanca the high-level dialogue was agreed upon when he met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Summit of the Americas, held last month in Trinidad and Tobago.

During the two-day meeting, officials will address development cooperation, the struggle against drug trafficking, and the suspension of Bolivia’s trade preferences under the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Enforcement Act.

Choquehuanca also expressed the need to discuss “judicial cooperation”, particularly as it relates to former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and two of his ministers, who fled to the US in 2003. The Morales administration has sought their extradition to face charges of genocide for the Black October massacre in which 67 people were killed and 400 injured when Bolivian security forces attacked a group of protesters.

To date, formal requests for extradition have gone unheeded by the US government; this despite a 1995 bilateral extradition treaty that was ratified by both countries.

Tensions between Bolivia and the US reached an all-time high last September when US Ambassador Philip Goldberg was expelled by the Morales administration for conspiring against the central government with Bolivian opposition leaders and civic groups.

The Bush administration promptly responded by expelling Bolivia's Ambassdor Gustavo Guzman and then blacklisted Bolivia for failing to adhere to its obligations of combatting international drug trafficking. Data provided by the Bolivian government and the United Nations contradicted the US critique of current anti-trafficking efforts.

Nonetheless, the White House allowed Bolivia's trade preferences under the ATPDEA to expire in December - costing Bolivia between $200-400 million in exports - even though both the House and Senate had voted in favor of extending the program.

But recent statements made by U.S. officials indicate that the Obama administration is taking a much different approach to its relations with Latin America.

Last week Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon opened the 39th Washington Conference on the Americas. He discussed the goal of improving relations with Venezuela, Ecuador and Cuba, as well as a future five-point agenda for diplomacy with Bolivia.

Shannon will lead the delegation traveling to La Paz this week.

Sources: ABI, EFE, Houston Chronicle

Photos: ABI & Democratic Underground

Sowing the Seeds of Diplomacy

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter made a 2-day stop in Bolivia -visiting with government officials in the cities of La Paz and Santa Cruz - while on a Latin American tour that also included Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.

The Nobel Laureate traveled with a delegation from The Carter Center – based in Atlanta, GA - and his wife Rosalynn.

On May Day, the group met with Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca and the Land Reform Institute as well as media executives and international organizations working with the Carter Center’s “Community of Practice”. Carter delivered a speech on Friday evening where he called on Bolivia’s political class to build a co-existence and maintain a democratic attitude in their actions.

On Saturday, President Evo Morales and Carter met at the Presidential Palace. Both leaders expressed hopes that relations between the U.S. and Bolivia would improve under the Obama Administration. Diplomatic ties were suspended in September 2008 after the expulsion of U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg whom the Bolivian government accused of conspiracy.

Carter said he would file a report with the White House and State Department to have Peace Corps volunteers return to Bolivia. Corps volunteers were pulled out of Bolivia in the fall of last year by the Bush Administration. They had been viewed with suspicion after a scandal broke in February 2008. A Fulbright Scholar charged that he and members of the Peace Corps were instructed by the U.S. Embassy to spy on Venezuelan and Cuban nationals working in Bolivia. During his meeting with Carter, Morales stated that the Peace Corps were welcome to return.

While in country, Carter expressed his belief that bilateral relations between the two countries could resume as early as next month. He reported that in June a delegation from the United States is scheduled to travel to Bolivia “to resume the exchange of ambassadors”.

The delegation also met with the four opposition governors in the city of Santa Cruz. According to reporting by Dr. Jennifer McCoy, the governors expressed their dissatisfaction with the new Constitution and how changes were being implemented in Bolivia, but they did not question the legitimacy of the Morales administration.

In a public appearance on Monday, Morales said Carter had praised the political and social reforms that are taking place in the country. Morales also mentioned that he had persuaded Carter to visit his farm in the Chapare to harvest coca the next time the former head of state travels to Bolivia. Morales had previously visited Carter's peanut farm in Georgia.

Members from the Carter Center will be in Bolivia to act as international observers to the general elections taking place on December 6.

The Carter Center has worked with the Bolivian government since 2003, initially to promote access to information but the organization has also collaborated with public officials on land reform issues and training in conflict resolution and negotiation. Currently the Center maintains a field office in Bolivia and since January 2008 has worked with the National Institute for Agrarian Reform (INRA) to provide technical assistance for public policy design.

Read more about The Carter Center trip to Latin America here.

Photo: ABI