An Arawak Witnesses History in Bolivia

La Paz, Bolivia - At the Presidential Palace on April 23rd, President Evo Morales Ayma signed into law the Nationalisation of the Natural Gas Industry of Bolivia; one of the largest reserves in the world. Witnesses to the historic event included Bolivian Government Ministers, top brass of the Bolivian Armed Forces, members of the Indigenous Caucus of the Organisation of American States, and hundreds of Bolivian citizens.

President Morales is the first Indigenous Amerindian Head of State in the Americas in almost five centuries of European colonisation and domination of the Western Hemisphere, and he gave a spontaneous & moving speech in Spanish - interrupted regularly by wild applause - explaining the reasons for his move and the truly criminal discrepancy that previously existed between what the powerful multinational leeches were extracting out of the country as compared to the pittance they were paying the Bolivian people - 85% of whom still live in poverty due to such unbridled capitalism´.

Afterwards the President personally greeted all the members of the Caucus and we were availed the opportunity to have our photos taken with him. Every country in Latin America was represented in the audience and the Indigenous Caucus, I was the only Caribbean person present at this historic event - and as a Arawak it was a great honour to be in the ancient ancestral birthplace of my people, to stand in solidarity with my Bolivian bothers and sisters, and witness MY president in action.

UCTP Taino News Moderator's Note: Damon Gerard Corrie is the Hereditary Chief ofthe Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawaks, founder & president of the Pan-Tribal Confederacy of Indigenous Tribal Nations, and a member of the Indigenous Caucus of the Organisation of American States working group to draft a declaration of Rightsof the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas - for which he is the official representative of the United Confederation of Taino People.