Skip to content
September 25, 2023
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Discord
Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

From Venezuela and made by Venezuelan Chavistas

Primary Menu
  • News
  • Opinion
  • About us
    • About us
    • Who we are – Becoming a Volunteer
    • Editorial guidelines for contributors
    • Our Sources
      • Venezuelan Sources
      • International Sources
    • Contact us
  • Categories
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Security and Defense
    • International
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • Oceania
      • US/Canada
    • Latin America and ALBA-TCP
      • South America
      • Central America and the Caribbean (+Mexico)
    • Ideology-Commune-Labor
    • Health-Education-Sport-Culture-Technology
    • Solidarity and Social Movements
    • OT Specials
  • Support Us
Light/Dark Button
YouTube Channel
  • Home
  • News
  • “Bolivia No Longer Begs” Says Communication Minister on Economy
  • International
  • Latin America and ALBA-TCP
  • News

“Bolivia No Longer Begs” Says Communication Minister on Economy

April 25, 2019

Since 2006, Bolivia’s economy has grown nearly five percent annually and lifted almost a third of citizens out of poverty.

Bolivia’s Minister of Communications Manuel Canelas jabbed at Carlos Mesa, current opposition candidate and former president between 2003-2005, saying that “Bolivia no longer begs in order to pay salaries.”

The jibe refers to speech by Carlos Mesa in 2005, when he announced his resignation from the presidency after just two years in office. In the speech, Mesa attacked then-union leader Evo Morales’ plans to nationalize natural resources and to reject the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying, “The only reason we can pay [public sector] salaries is because of the handouts we get internationally because I extend my hand.” He added that nationalization of the country’s gas reserves is impossible because “Spain, the U.S. and the World Bank have told us so.”

RELATED CONTENT: Fall Delegation to Bolivia: Presidential Election October 20, 2019, Food Sovereignty and Indigenous Resistance!!

The speech ended with a message to Morales warning that “it’s easy to make little speeches about sovereignty and independence whilst sat across the table. Come and govern, and then you’ll see the realities of administering the state.”

Carlos Mesa is now the leading candidate for Bolivia’s opposition, polling closely behind President Morales for the general elections on October 20.

Evo Morales has governed since 2006.

The minister’s comments come as Mesa recently released a video in which he accused the government of failing on issues such as security and ‘economic stagnation.’ In response, Canelas said, “In the past few years Bolivia has occupied first, second and third place in economic growth, and it’s United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL,) The World Bank, the IMF who say that. When Carlos Mesa was president and Saul Lara was his minister, they had to beg for international charity just to pay salaries.”

RELATED CONTENT: Venezuela and the Setbacks of the Latin American Left: What Does it all Mean? (Interview with Steve Ellner)

Canelas also criticized Mesa’s comments on security saying, “It would be interesting for former President Mesa to show us any figure from any Latin American security monitor that shows more insecurity now than in 2003 – 2005, when not even police salaries were guaranteed due to our country lacking economic resources.”

Since Morales came to power in 2006, the economy has grown at an average of nearly five percent, with 3 million citizens in a country of 11 million, having been lifted out of poverty.

Carlos Mesa first acted as vice president to Gonzalez Sanchez de Lozada, who fled the country to Miami (his present residence) by helicopter amid social protests against privatization. Following Sanchez de Lozada’s departure, Mesa took the reigns, but was unable to quell protests, led by then union leader Evo Morales.

 

Source URL: Telesur English

 

Don't want to be a victim of the Algorithm?

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR WEEKLY DIGEST WITH ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VENEZUELA AND BEYOND

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

orinocotribune
Website | + posts
  • orinocotribune
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/orinocotribune/
    President Nicolás Maduro speaking at a press conference in late 2022. File photo.
    September 25, 2023
    President Maduro Accuses Guyana of Becoming an ExxonMobil Branch Amid Border Dispute (+Geneva Agreement)
  • orinocotribune
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/orinocotribune/
    Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister Admiral Remigio Ceballos speaks during a press conference at the Tocorón Penitentiary Center, Aragua state, September 23, 2023. Photo: AFP.
    September 24, 2023
    Venezuela's Interior Minister: Criminal Gang Tren de Aragua Dismantled (+Niño Guerrero)
  • orinocotribune
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/orinocotribune/
    Part of the weapons arsenal seized by Venezuelan authorities after raiding Tocoron Prison on September 20, 2023. Photo: AFP.
    September 23, 2023
    Venezuela's Attorney General: Dismantling Tocorón Prison a Blow to Criminal Mafias (+Alarming Videos)
  • orinocotribune
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/orinocotribune/
    Meeting between the CNP and the former CNE executive board on March 8, 2023. Photo: X/@cneesvzla/File photo.
    September 22, 2023
    Venezuela's Electoral Authorities to Provide Technical Assistance to Opposition Primaries
Tags: Bolivia Evo Morales Socialism

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Continue Reading

Previous Previous post:

Cristina Fernandez-Kirchner Leads Electoral Polls in Argentina

Next Next post:

Sri Lanka’s Bloody Legacy: A Country Ravaged by UK-Fueled 26-year Civil War

Subscribe to Weekly Digest

We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our Privacy Policy.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

NEWS: MOST POPULAR

Calendar

September 2023
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« Aug    

Categories

OPINION: MOST POPULAR

We are on Telegram


Receive our news directly in your cell phone or PC, join us on our TELEGRAM channel.

 

We are on Discord


Join our Discord server to check our content without algorithms and to interact directly with our team.

The original content by Orinoco Tribune is free to share and it is licensed under CC BY 4.0

We are on Reddit

If you are more into REDDIT, join our Orinoco Tribune subreddit.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Discord
Copyleft, No rights reserved.

W E    N E E D    Y O U R    S U P P O R T

Orinoco Tribune operates without any advertising. We are not funded by any governments, think tanks, or large institutions. Our operations are entirely funded by readers like you. Our most generous donors have been targeted by the US for supporting socialist causes or are financially struggling. As a result, their accounts have been frozen, cutting off a significant revenue stream and severely threatening the sustainability of Orinoco Tribune.

We urge our readers and supporters, especially those not currently doing so, to help us with small donation (such as US $5 or $10/month) via Patreon, via Paypal/Credit-Card/crypto or via paper checks. Readers and supporters like you will allow us to continue bringing you progressive and hard-hitting news from Latin America, the Global South, and the world.

Help us reach our goal of $650 in monthly Patreon donations. We are counting on you as our only source of financial support!