Bolivia and Spain

While in Spain last week I watched a press conference between President Morales of Bolivia and Prime Minister Zapatero of Spain. Morales was clear about his views on the United States and saw Spain as a key player in handling contacts between Latin America and Europe. This should come as no surprise, as not only is Spain the traditional colonial power in the region, with linguistic, cultural and historical ties, but now there are many thousands of Latin American immigrants living in Spain, many of whom have EU passports because their grandparents were European immigrants. An example of this is the large Argentinian community there, many of whom hold Italian passports.

One of the highlights of the press conference was an announcement by Zapatero that Spain was cancelling its debt with Bolivia.Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said 60% of the amount will be cancelled outright and 40% deposited into a fund for education projects. Zapatero told a joint press conference with Morales the deal was part of Spain's "commitment to the development of Bolivia and Bolivians" which will also include "a major training programme for young people." I think this is an excellent and real example of a European state carrying out its responsibility towards the developing and poorer nations.

Morales was due to discuss the upcoming nationalization of Bolivia's electricity sector, in which several Spanish companies have stakes.

An agreement was also to be signed to allow Bolivian residents in Spain and Spaniards in Bolivia to vote in each others' municipal elections.
Before beginning his official visit, Morales presided over a rally of some 7,000 Bolivians in Leganes near Madrid , pledging to fight for the legalization of undocumented Bolivian immigrants in Spain.
"When Spaniards and Europeans arrived in America, our grandparents never said they were illegal," he told an ecstatic crowd.
Only 98,000 of Spain's estimated 250,000 Bolivians are legally in the country.
The rally was seen as having a strong electoral flavour, as Bolivians resident in Spain are allowed to vote in the December 6 presidential and legislative elections.
The visit was Morales' first to Spain as head of state.

Naturally questions about President Chavez of Venezuela came up also at the press conference. Morales made it clear that he is standing as an ally of Venezuela and that Colombia's actions are provocative. Colombia is the main ally of the US in Latin America and its armed forces are the largest and have received considerable financial support from the US. Zapatero, for his part, in an attempt to be conciliatory, said that Latin America needed to be united and that only as a united region could it be influential. Morales has been particularly incensed about the decision by Colombia to allow the US to have military bases on its territory.

Morales has made quite an impression in Spain as the first indigenous Latin American president and is clearly speaking out also for Latin American immigrants in Europe. Spain is about to introduce its fourth major legal change in immigration laws in the last few years, largely as a response to the mounting level of unemployment in the country.

Colombia's actions in Latin America are increasingly bellicose and are leading to concerns from Bolivia and Venezuela that some military action is in the pipeline. The role of US bases in Latin America is a very topical one at present, although the situation has improved under Obama. However, this latest deal with Colombia will lead to increased tension. Progressive Europeans must support progressive presidents such as Morales against militarisation and economic hegemony.

There is an interesting article on the mounting tension in the region in Green Left Weekly http://www.greenleft.org.au/2009/811/41736