We are in a stadium at this moment with more than 10,000 people gathered to hear Bolivian president Evo Morales’ address to the Peoples World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth’s Rights.
The gathering – opened by a moving Indigenous ceremony – reflects what has been achieved in Bolivia, and the leadership that is being demonstrated by Bolivia on the global stage.
We are in a stadium at this moment with more than 10,000 people gathered to hear Bolivian president Evo Morales’ address to the Peoples World Conference on Climate Change and Mother Earth’s Rights.
The gathering – opened by a moving Indigenous ceremony – reflects what has been achieved in Bolivia, and the leadership that is being demonstrated by Bolivia on the global stage.
When he spoke this morning, Morales stated, “Either capitalism dies, or it will be Mother Earth. We’re here because industrialized countries have not honored their promises.”
“The main cause of climate change is capitalism. As people who inhabit Mother Earth, we have the right to say that the cause is capitalism, to protest limitless growth. Capitalism is the source of the problem. More than 800 million people live on less than $2 a day. Until we change the capitalist system, our measures to address climate change are limited. Either capitalism lives or Mother Earth lives.”
Morales also said, “Copenhagen was not a failure, but rather a success. While it may have been a failure for developed nations, it provided an opportunity for the peoples. We must decolonize and look to build a new model for bringing about harmony with nature… our proposal is communitarian socialism. The only enemy our planet faces is capitalism. If we save the earth, if if we protect the planet’s life, then we will save humanity.”
Photo 1: The opening ceremony begins.
Photo 2: Maude Barlow and Andrea Harden-Donahue listen to Evo Morales speak at the opening ceremony.
