The tremendous success of the April 19-22 World Peoples Summit on Climate Change and Mother Earth Rights held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, has confirmed the well-deserved role of its initiator 鈥 Bolivian President Evo Morales 鈥 as one of the world鈥檚 leading environmental advocates.
Since being elected the country鈥檚 first indigenous president in 2005, Morales has continuously denounced the threat posed by the climate crisis and environmental destruction.
Morales has pointed the figure at the real cause of the problem: the consumerist and profit-driven capitalist system.
Bolivia
鈥淭here are two ways forward: Either save capitalism, or save Mother Earth鈥, Bolivian President Evo Morales said, stressing that this was the choice facing governments at a May 7 press conference in New York. There, he discussed the outcomes of the 35,000-strong World People鈥檚 Summit on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Perhaps no other sector better exemplifies the challenge the Bolivian government faces in lifting the country out of the poverty and dependency afflicting South America鈥檚 poorest nation than its all-important mining industry.
Mining minister and former miners鈥 union leader Jose Pimentel told 91自拍论坛 Weekly: 鈥淏olivia has been a mining country for more than 500 years, ever since the Spanish came and discovered the legendary wealth [of the silver mines] of Potosi.鈥
A key demand adopted by the World People鈥檚 Summit on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth was for the industrialised First World nations to pay their 鈥渃limate debt鈥 to the underdeveloped nations. The summit was held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, over April 19-22 and attended by 35,000 people from around the world.
A key concept promoted at the summit was that of vivir bien 鈥 living well. This is similar to the common idea expressed in the West, 鈥渓ive simply so that others may simply live鈥.
As has become the tradition in recent years, Bolivian President Evo Morales celebrated May Day (May 1, the international workers鈥 day) by announcing the nationalisation of foreign-owned firms.
Morales announced the state take-over of four power companies, as part of his government鈥檚 drive to strengthen the state sector to help reverse centuries of foreign exploitation of Bolivian resources.
In the Cochabamba football stadium on April 22, diverse indigenous peoples paraded around the track, thousands of local peasants sat in the stands, and thousands more activists from around the globe waved flags and chanted on the field.
A common sentiment flowed through the crowd: something historic had occurred over the previous three days during the April 19-22 World People鈥檚 Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth organised by the Bolivian government in Cochabamba.
Bolivia's World People's Summit on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth was radical, inspiring, uncompromising and exactly what was needed.
Up to 30,000 people from six continents took part in the summit, which was held in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba from April 19 to 22.
The huge oil spill from a BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the summit鈥檚 significance. About 800,000 litres of oil are spewing out a day. The company admits it may not be able to stop the leak for weeks 鈥 or even months.
The World People鈥檚 Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth held in April 19-22 in Cochabamba, adopted a People鈥檚 Agreement on tackling climate change. Some of its key points are listed below. Visit Pwccc.wordpress.com to read the full document, and other resolutions adopted by the summit.
The People鈥檚 Agreement includes the following points:
鈥淐apitalism is the number one enemy of humanity鈥, Bolivian President Evo Morales said in his closing speech to the World People鈥檚 Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth held on April 19-22 in Cochabamba.
鈥淚t turns everything into merchandise, it seeks continual expansion. The system needs to be changed.鈥
More than 35,000 people attended the summit, organised by the Bolivian government in response to the challenge of climate change after rich nations refused to allow an agreement for serious action at the December United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen.
COCHABAMBA: Bolivian President Evo Morales Ayma condemned the capitalist system in the opening session of the 1st World Conference of the Peoples on Climatic Change on April 20.
Morales, in his April 20 intervention in the inauguration, stated that capitalism is the main enemy of the Earth, only looking for profits, to the detriment of nature, and that capitalism is a bridge for asymmetries and inequality.
As Bolivia heads towards its December 6 national elections, the right-wing opposition has again turned to violence and disinformation to try to halt the process of change led by the country鈥檚 first indigenous president, Evo Morales.
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