‘Get rid of the US political influence, IMF dictate’ - Bolivia’s leader Evo Morales to EU
European countries should free themselves from US political dominance and the dictates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bolivian President Evo Morales told RT.
In his interview with RT’s Spanish-language channel in Brussels, Morales said he is “very sorry that, instead of freeing themselves from the shackles of the North American Empire, some countries continue to live in its submission.”
“I would want to conclude an alliance with Europe to free ourselves together from [the US] imperial dominance and its neocolonial mentality which seeks hegemony,” he said urging Europe “to get rid of the US political influence” and “economically free themselves from the International Monetary Fund’s dictate.”
READ MORE: Morales: Obama can invade any country for US energy needs
“Everything is well here in Latin America: Bolivia is showing significant economic growth due to the fact that we have gained political independence. The US no longer governs our country through its embassy and doesn’t make decisions for us. The IMF doesn’t decide for us in the economy sector,” he said.
Morales said the number of Europeans in Latin America has significantly increased over the past several years.
“Growing rate of unemployment in Europe is a very alarming signal. That is why the number of Europeans coming to Latin America and Caribbean countries is growing.”
According to a study published by the International Organization for Migrations (IOM) in June, the number of European moving to Latin America (some 180,000 in 2012) is higher than that of Latin Americans moving to Europe for the first time in 14 years.
Morales noted that Latin America has “never used laws to evict [Europeans] from our countries. We have never built facilities to imprison Europeans there. In this lie our deep differences.”
He stressed the importance of social equality, saying it is as important as world peace, and called on the EU to create social programs to fight poverty.
READ MORE: NSA spied on Latin America for energy and military intel
Commenting on US-Russia relations, Morales, who is in Brussels for the EU-CELAC summit of European, Latin American and Caribbean leaders, told RT that Washington’s current policy is one of “military expansion.”
“We fully support Russia’s struggle for its sovereignty as well as fully understand the existing differences in Ukraine. It is necessary to be guided by what the people want. You cannot impose your will in the pursuit of geopolitical interests.”
He said the US still uses methods such as “government coups and military dictatorships” to impose their policy “in the pursuit of geopolitical interests.”
Morales has always been critical of Washington’s policies.
US relations with Bolivia further deteriorated in 2013 following the grounding of Morales’s plane in Vienna. While on his way home from Moscow in July of that year, several EU countries closed their airspace to his jet on the suspicion that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden – wanted in the US on espionage charges – was on board his plane. Bolivia laid blame for the plane’s grounding on the US, and Morales threatened to close the US embassy.
After Latin American countries learned they were being extensively spied upon by the NSA, US-Latin American relations deteriorated even further.
READ MORE: Latin America rising: Outrage at ‘imperial hijack’ of Morales’ plane
