The winner of the Bolivian presidential election, Evo Morales (left) greets supporters upon his arrival at news conference at the headquarters of the coca growers' union he has led for nearly 20 years, in Cochabamba, central Bolivia, yesterday. Morales is set to become the first indigenous president in Bolivia, a country with more than 70 per cent indigenous population. He will be sworn in during the first session of the new Congress on January 22. - REUTERS
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (Reuters):
EVO MORALES, who won Bolivia's presidential election vows to end a U.S. campaign against coca growing, stepped up his criticism of American anti-drug policies yesterday. He accused Washington of using drug fighting efforts to militarise the region.
In his first news conference since claiming victory on Sunday Morales - who took a surpris-ingly strong majority and will be Bolivia's first Indian leader - insisted he was opposed to drugs but disputed Washington's methods.
"The fight against drug trafficking is a false pretext for the United States to install military bases and we're not in agreement," he told reporters.
"We support an effective fight against drugs. Neither cocaine or drug trafficking are part of the Bolivian culture," he said in his stronghold of Cochabamba as the first official results from Sunday's vote trickled in.
Washington considers Morales, who first rose to power as the leader of the country's coca leaf farmers, an enemy in its anti-drug fight in Bolivia, the third biggest cocaine producer after Colombia and Peru.
The U.S. government insists much of Bolivia's coca is processed into cocaine, but farmers say they grow the plant for traditional medicinal uses, herbal teas and religious ceremonies.
According to U.N. statistics, Bolivia put 107 tonnes of cocaine on world markets last year. The United States spends $150 million a year on anti-drug efforts in Bolivia.
Some analysts said the United States should move quickly to engage Morales and discuss ways to bridge their differences.
"I would hope that Morales' position would lead to the U.S. taking a more realistic policy because if there's one thing we've learned in last 20 years is we can't stop the drug trade," said Nicolas Shumway, director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the University of Texas, Austin.
"What I'm hoping is the U.S. will listen to him and try and hear his concerns and not just try to impose a policy on Bolivia unilaterally," Shumway said.
NO CALL FROM WASHINGTON
Morales' leading rivals conceded defeat when results tabulated by local media Sunday showed him heading for a resounding victory, taking slightly more than 50 per cent of the vote.
With 33 per cent of the official results tallied Monday, Morales led with 48 per cent to 35 per cent for Jorge Quiroga, a conservative former president. The official count will take several days but based on media calculations Morales' vote tally is expected to remain near 50 per cent.
If Morales gets more than half of the votes he will avoid having to face a congressional vote between the two top vote-getters as required by Bolivian law.
Asked by reporters if he had been contacted any Bush administration officials after he emerged as the likely victor, Morales said no. "I don't expect to be, either," he said.
Morales, a lawmaker who admires Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's drive for regional cooperation to counter U.S. influence, drew his most fervent support from Bolivia's indigenous majority.
Many Bolivian Indians see one of their own reversing what most see as more than 500 years of discrimination under leaders of European heritage, beginning with slavery in Spanish colonial silver mines.
"There is hope that things are finally going to change," said Carlos Pilco, a 48-year-old mechanic, in El Alto, a satellite city to La Paz and home to hundreds of thousands of indigenous Bolivians.
Aymara Indian law student Jorge Quispe, 30, urged Bolivians to give the new leader time to implement his program.
Street protests over the country's economic policies have unseated two presidents since 2003.
"Bolivians have to think about what ways we can support our president, he said.
