Bolivia, 1997

Allow me to convey the congratulations of the

Government and the people of Bolivia to you,

Mr. President. Your well-deserved election is fitting

recognition of your work and prestige.

Allow me also to commend the work of Ambassador

Razali Ismail of Malaysia, who so ably conducted the

deliberations of the previous session of the General

Assembly.

Finally, my congratulations go as well to Secretary-

General Kofi Annan, whose contributions to the cause of

world peace and cooperation have earned him the

unanimous gratitude of the Member States of this

Organization.

All the countries of Latin America, in one way or

another and each at its own pace, have put long decades

of ideological confrontation and economic crisis behind

them. They have opened their markets, controlled

inflation, reduced the deficit and privatized public

enterprises. They have rebuilt their democratic

institutional structures on new foundations, with new

protagonists, and restarted the process of growth.

However, old structural adjustment problems,

aggravated by the period of crisis, have surfaced. Clearly

the most important of these is the inequitable distribution

of income and its results: exclusion, poverty, violence and

social fragmentation. Such inequities have created ever-

greater gaps between the immensely rich and those who

have barely enough to survive. There are no social

security systems to protect the dispossessed, to cushion

their fall and rehabilitate them so that they can live a

productive life. For this reason, the potential for violence

and discontent on our continent is growing larger and

more dangerous.

These factors aside, however, Latin America meets

all of the necessary conditions to forge ahead and grow in

that it has the capacity and courage to continue to

change — to increase society’s store of knowledge, create

new competitive advantages, eliminate internal

marginalization, reduce extreme poverty, rebuild the State,

and speak with its own voice in the world political

community.

Education stands out as a vital precondition for all of

these goals. Without a far-reaching revolution in the area of

education, we will not be able to achieve these goals or

meet the challenges of our time.

Today, Latin America is no longer asking others for

what it cannot do on its own. Proof of this is the significant

progress recently made in strengthening mechanisms for

economic integration, such as the Andean Group and the

Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR). The

region is also taking a different approach in its relations

with the economically advanced countries. The old

defensive and mistrustful attitude has yielded to the

conviction that it is necessary to merge Latin America’s

economy into the contemporary current of productive and

technological development, attract investments and open its

markets to its products while preserving its identity,

upholding its values and attending to its interests, without

for an instant losing sight of the fact that the key to its

strength lies in its own markets and in its resources.

Let me reiterate Bolivia’s concern about landmines. It

is incomprehensible that those very same borders across

which we are seeking to promote trade and integration

should be sown with devices of war that endanger the

civilian population and threaten their fundamental rights.

We are convinced that the Governments of the region

directly affected by the problem will find a way to resolve

it.

This matter is of particular and direct relevance to

Bolivia, due to the well-known and acknowledged fact that

Chile has laid a significant number of mines along our

common border. Removal of those mines is of the utmost

urgency, in keeping with the commitments entered into in

Oslo, the dictates of morality and the imperative of the

spirit of integration that should prevail between

neighbouring nations. Avoidance of this topic is not the

attitude that the international community wishes to see.

What is needed is firm resolve and the sincere will to

contribute to peace between countries that must impart a

sense of solidarity to their borders.

Since the early days of its independence, Bolivia has

rejected the use of force and the arms race as an instrument

of its foreign policy. We have the moral authority,

therefore, to condemn those commercial interests that seek

to foster the procurement of war matériel, thereby

compromising what we have achieved so far in terms of

preserving peace on the continent.

I have sought to describe the process of change in

Latin America in order to show the extent to which

developments in each of our countries are part of a

broader and more comprehensive historical trend.

However, Bolivia’s transformation has its own particular

features. Following a lengthy process of social

confrontation, we have restored democracy and economic

freedoms in Bolivia. In a spirit of respect for human

rights and freedoms, we have given full support to the

political system and fuelled the economic growth and

development that prevail today in Bolivia. It should be

underscored that this was a peaceful reconstruction

process — the result of democratic dialogue.

My Government, the product of a mandate of the

people, represents more than 70 per cent of the Bolivian

electorate. Nonetheless, we must continue to move

forward and broaden the scope of dialogue and consensus,

involving social institutions and their leaders in the task

of identifying the main objectives of development in

Bolivia as well as the broad outlines of our strategy for

the twenty-first century. That is the purpose of the

national dialogue that I have recently called for, which

has the support of all the political parties — Government

and opposition; the church; private enterprise; and farmers

and workers.

Of course, this new country we are building is

looking to the future from a different perspective and with

a sense of renewed confidence. The time has come to

reaffirm Bolivia’s role on our continent — its role as a

crossroads and as a land of contacts, at the juncture of the

great basins and the great cultures of America. Bolivia’s

key geographical position may become one of its major

comparative advantages and an essential element in

enhancing the country’s international stature.

However, this is not yet a reality. It is a task that

remains to be accomplished, a promise that remains to be

fulfilled. To this end, Bolivia will need to rebuild its

maritime capacity; reduce the transportation cost of its

products; and create a modern export sector and connect

it with the Pacific and the Atlantic. We must see and

understand our country as a part of the continent.

Bolivia’s association with MERCOSUR is not only

the result of a desire to cultivate a historical friendship

but also a consequence of the concrete needs of Bolivian

development. The exceptional growth in the eastern areas

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of Bolivia calls for a more intense and productive

relationship with our neighbours on the Atlantic.

That effort coincides with one of the most impressive

development ventures in the history of America, which is

taking place now on the territories of Brazil, Bolivia,

Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. Investments and

technology must be allowed to flow freely in that region.

We must set up a genuine common market, a multinational

development project, around this potential, which should

also promote the integration of our countries into the world

economy. It is well known that the Paraguay-Paraná

waterway is the natural route linking the area.

That major project, however, has already gone beyond

the imagination of the visionaries and the negotiating tables

of the diplomats. It is now in the hands of engineers and

workers. After more than 30 years of efforts, construction

has begun on the Santa Cruz-San Pablo-Curitiba gas

pipeline, the first segment of a network of energy

distribution for which Bolivia’s territory provides the

crossroads. This is one of the largest engineering projects

in the history of the region. It will stretch for more than

3,000 kilometres, will carry more than 7 billion cubic feet

of natural gas over 20 years and will require a total

investment of nearly $5 billion.

Bolivia’s very existence is directly tied to the Pacific.

Accordingly, we have been following with great interest the

process of consolidating the vast potential of the Andean

community. That potential is also found in our immediate

vicinity. The economies of Bolivia, Peru and Chile are

complementary.

Our territories are not only markets, but avenues for

integration. The territories of Peru and Chile hold Bolivia’s

gateway to the Pacific, while that of Bolivia opens up

communication between those nations and the vast interior

of the continent.

I must stress, however, that the reality still falls far

short of the potential. The reason for this is to be found in

a war that took place just over 100 years ago, and whose

adverse consequences continue to be felt in the relations

between our countries. Undoubtedly, the most unjust and

serious of those consequences is the geographical enclosure

imposed upon Bolivia.

Bolivia’s demand to return to the Pacific Ocean, with

sovereign rights and a coastline of its own cannot be

renounced. It is a vital condition for our national

development but, above all, a historical claim that cannot be

compromised. The recovery of our maritime access,

temporarily lost, is an essential condition for fulfilling our

continental role as a crossroads and a point of

convergence. My country will turn to the international

community as many times as necessary in order to call

attention to a problem that has already been deemed a

matter of permanent hemispheric interest in the light of its

many implications for continental security and harmony.

Despite everything, my Government, as always, remains

ready to explore avenues of constructive dialogue with an

open mind.

Illicit drug trafficking unjustly distorts the reality of

Bolivia and affects and interferes with the proper conduct

of external cooperation. Bolivia itself has done a great

deal to contain this problem. It has not permitted drug

trafficking to taint beyond repair its economic,

institutional and political structure. And it has done so

peacefully, without resorting to violence. Nevertheless, the

stigma of drug trafficking exists, and while we are

disturbed by the manner in which it is magnified, it would

be a mistake to ignore it.

Accordingly, my Government has taken the decision

to remove Bolivia from the drug-trafficking circuit within

the term of my administration. We shall use dialogue and

consultation with peasant producers of coca in order

definitively to eradicate illegal crops. We shall be ruthless

with the drug traffickers. We shall not give them a

moment’s rest until they have been for ever banned from

the history of Bolivia.

Naturally, this is not an exclusively Bolivian

problem, nor can our actions alone resolve the global and

hemispheric problem of illegal trafficking in narcotics. It

is a matter that concerns all and that requires everyone’s

commitment. Therefore, the time has come to reaffirm the

principles of shared responsibility. The characteristics and

scope of this problem mean that it cannot be faced

effectively through isolated efforts. It undeniably calls for

resolute action by all countries, especially those affected

by consumption and who have sufficient economic

resources to combat this terrible evil.

My country reaffirms its commitment to the peace

process in the Middle East in keeping with the principles

and values that guide harmonious coexistence between

peoples. However, given the resurgence of tensions and

new acts of confrontation, we call upon the parties not to

go back on the commitments already made. That is the

firm answer for maintaining peace in the region.

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In another vein, Bolivia has received with satisfaction

the Secretary-General’s initiative proposing a broad

programme of reforms in the United Nations system. We

feel it is essential to strengthen the role of the Secretariat.

We reiterate the importance of the process of expansion and

reform of the Security Council with a view to correcting

present imbalances, guaranteeing equitable and non-

discriminatory geographical distribution, improving its

decision-making mechanisms and making it an organ that

can take action in a manner that is increasingly legitimate

and representative of the countries that make up the United

Nations. Bolivia shares the view that we should move

towards the elimination of the veto, limiting its use in the

interim to issues considered under Chapter VII of the

Charter.

Bolivia reiterates its commitment to the principles that

have guided global solidarity for more than 50 years. We

Bolivians believe that there can be no relinquishing of the

standards that establish mutual respect and the sovereign

equality of States, regardless of their size or level of

development. Nor can we surrender the principles of

peaceful settlement of disputes, the inviolability and

integrity of territories and respect for self-determination of

peoples that wish to preserve their own systems of life and

Government, free from threats.

If there is a lesson to be learned from the experience

of the century now drawing to a close, it is the versatility

of the human endeavour. Mankind has an incorrigible

tendency to make mistakes, but also a talent for correcting

them and for building from the rubble the new portals of

freedom and faith.

With the approach of the new millennium, at an hour

that is both dusk and dawn, we must look upon the events

of the world from the dual perspective of humility and

hope.