[R-G] Fwd: Evo Morales in NYC Sept 24

[Anthony Fenton]

Thought you might be interested in this event, please forward...

EVO MORALES AYMA
President of the Republic of Bolivia

Will be speaking to the public

Monday, September 24th at 7 p.m.

Cooper Union
The Great Hall
7 East 7th Street at Third Avenue
New York, NY

On December 18, 2005, Evo Morales Ayma, leader of Bolivia's coca  
growers'
unions, was elected the nation's first indigenous president by an
unprecedented 54% majority. President Morales has initiated a process of
change that includes land reform, a constituent assembly to rewrite the
Constitution, and recovery of the nation's natural resources to benefit
Bolivia's poor and indigenous majority. President Morales will speak  
about
these historic events and the future of Bolivia's struggle for social
justice.

We encourage you to register in advance.

Registration may be done by sending the following information to
evonewyork at gmail.com

* Name (first & last)
* Affiliation/Organization
* Phone Number
* Email

Tickets (free of charge) will be sent via email. We ask that you  
arrive at
least 30 minutes in advance and bring proper I.D

-----

New York Times
September 18, 2007

A Radical Gives Bolivia Some Stability
By SIMON ROMERO
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia, Sept. 14 — Evening newscasts speak of a country  
on the verge of balkanization. La Paz and Sucre dispute which city  
should be the capital. Santa Cruz, in the east, clamors for autonomy.  
The governor of the province encompassing this bustling city in the  
Andes has called on President Evo Morales to resign.

But Mr. Morales, the first Indian to govern Bolivia since the Spanish  
conquest almost five centuries ago, knows a thing or two about  
unrest, having organized protests for years as the leader of the  
country's cocaleros, or coca cultivators, who fiercely resist  
American efforts to eradicate their crops.

"Step into my office," said Mr. Morales, at the start of an interview  
at 5:45 a.m. on a Friday. He opened the door to a barren room in a  
decaying building here that houses the Federación del Trópico, which  
represents coca-leaf growers from the jungles of central Bolivia.  
When in Cochabamba, where he also keeps a modest home, he conducts  
presidential affairs from this office.

Mr. Morales's work habits, inspired by the coca farmer's custom of  
rising before dawn, have not changed since he became president in  
2006. The sport-utility vehicles of the president's motorcade sit on  
the curb. A BMW, one of three he uses around Bolivia, is parked  
nearby. So is his private jet.

For all the worries that Mr. Morales's radicalism would create  
economic and political turmoil in Bolivia, the reality of his tenure  
is that the country is relatively stable. Social divisions and  
poverty remain entrenched, but Mr. Morales has surprised many,  
including some in the business community, with his staying power.

When asked about Bolivia's problems, he replies with an economist's  
precision. "One of the most ferocious debates in my cabinet is  
whether we should spend part of our foreign currency reserves," he  
said, explaining how these reserves had more than doubled since he  
took office in January 2006, to about $4 billion. In a nod to  
economic orthodoxy, Mr. Morales said, "I don't want to for now."

Bolivia remains South America's poorest country, with about 60  
percent of the population of 9.1 million mired in poverty, making  
such debates crucial. Yet the results of one of Mr. Morales's  
policies in particular — the nationalization of the petroleum  
industry last year — has surprised even skeptics.

Feared as a radical move, the nationalization was in effect a  
renegotiation of terms with foreign energy companies that have stayed  
in Bolivia, attracted by the country's bountiful natural gas  
reserves. Revenue from oil and natural gas climbed to 13.3 percent of  
gross domestic product in 2006 from 5 percent in 2004, according to  
the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.

That increase has placed Bolivia on its most enviable economic  
footing in years, with growth of about 4 percent expected this year.  
Economists also note that coca is lifting Bolivia's economy, with  
traffic climbing to neighboring Brazil.

In a touch of irony, the urban upper classes, many of whose members  
remain explicitly critical of Mr. Morales, are benefiting from the  
newfound stability and economic vibrancy. With a cocalero in power,  
cocalero activists no longer shut down the main highway from Santa  
Cruz, enabling the province's exports to reach important markets.  
Similarly, parts of the southern area of La Paz are prospering as  
builders rush to meet demand for comfortable apartment buildings.  
Here in Cochabamba, a new $6 million Cineplex, which seems plucked  
from suburban California, illustrates how investors are pouring money  
into new projects.

One feature film set to debut on screens throughout the country next  
month is "Evo Pueblo," in which the director Tonchi Antezana depicts  
Mr. Morales's origins in the Aymara Indian village of Orinoca. The  
fictionalized account shows his stints in brick factories and how he  
played trumpet in local bands ? and his radicalism as head of the  
cocaleros.

The film reflects a fascination in Bolivia with Mr. Morales, who  
never graduated from high school and remains a bachelor at age 47. At  
rallies, crowds hold placards celebrating reports that Mr. Morales is  
mentioned as a possible recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Two  
journalists, Darwin Pinto and Roberto Navia, have caused a sensation  
with an unauthorized biography called "Someone Called Evo," which  
recounts the president's amorous adventures and his rise to power.

On the political front, critics say Mr. Morales is tilting toward  
authoritarianism, with rough verbal treatment of opponents and a  
proposal by supporters to be re-elected indefinitely. And some  
policies seem erratic and inspired by President Hugo Chávez of  
Venezuela, like his moves this month to establish diplomatic ties  
with Iran while announcing visa requirements for American visitors.

"Chávez sees the creation of a great Latin American fatherland, a  
vision that I share," said Mr. Morales, defending his aid from  
Venezuela, while criticizing foreign assistance that requires  
conditions like coca eradication. He remains the leader of the  
Federación del Trópico, saying he would return to growing coca when  
his presidency ends.

For now, Mr. Morales, dressed in jeans and tennis shoes, seems at  
ease after attaining the highest approval ratings of any president in  
recent memory. He shoos away advisers and bodyguards, preferring to  
conduct the interview alone. He jokes about efforts to improve his  
swing in frontón, a sport similar to racquetball that is beloved by  
Bolivians.

"We're creating another way of doing government, but it has not been  
easy," Mr. Morales said in halting and carefully enunciated Spanish  
as the sun rose above Cochabamba. "The challenges seem to arise every  
day."

He chafes at criticism from Bolivia's light-skinned elite. Even as  
president, he said, he still suffered from discrimination, pointing  
to snubs and insults from the business community in Santa Cruz, a  
bastion of opposition to his government.

"I thought that by getting to the presidential palace I could end  
discrimination," he said, remembering how his mother was prevented  
from entering the plaza of Oruro when Mr. Morales was a teenager  
growing up in that city. "I realize now that the decolonization of  
our society will take longer than expected."