Posted on 01/11/2006 8:04:35 PM PST by NormsRevenge
PRETORIA, South Africa - Bolivia's leftist President-elect Evo Morales extended a conciliatory hand to the United States on Wednesday, saying he forgives past humiliations and welcomes dialogue even as he believes U.S. officials may be plotting against him.
Bolivia's first elected Indian leader criticized Mexican President Vicente Fox, telling The Associated Press in an interview that Fox was hostile toward him and all indigenous peoples in the Americas, including those of Mexico.
Morales said he believes claims by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that the United States is plotting to overthrow Morales, but welcomes reports that U.S. officials are interested in talks.
"Any dialogue that is oriented to put an end to discrimination and poverty is welcome," he said in South Africa, where he arrived Tuesday on a tour that has taken him to Europe and China.
"I also forgive those in the White House for so many humiliations. I forgive because through dialogue we have to look for peace and social justice," Morales said. He didn't refer again in his news conference to humiliations except to claim that U.S. officials had described him as a "mafioso and a narcotrafficker."
Chavez said in a speech Tuesday that Venezuela's government will stand by Morales if any attempt is made to oust his friend and fellow leftist leader. He did not offer specifics to support his claim. The U.S. Embassy in Bolivia dismissed the accusation as ridiculous.
Morales, who has spoken out against U.S. "imperialism" and its coca eradication policy in Bolivia, takes office on Jan. 22.
Morales' inauguration invitation to Mexico's Zapatista rebel group drew a protest Wednesday from Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez.
"There should be one invitation to the Mexican government, which represents the Mexican state," Derbez said in Mexico City. "Not to specific groups."
Morales also lashed out at Fox, who, apparently frustrated by long-delayed negotiations to import Bolivian natural gas, reportedly said that if the Bolivians would not export their petroleum products, they could eat them.
Morales said his plans to nationalize his central American nation's natural resources involve increasing exports.
"President Fox is mistaken," he told the AP. "I think the president has a problem with me and my country and most importantly with all indigenous peoples in the Americas, including those in his own country."
Morales came to South Africa to meet with business and political leaders who helped move the country from apartheid isolation to democratic prosperity.
He met Wednesday with President Thabo Mbeki, describing his visit as "an encounter of two peoples who have been historically discriminated against."
Morales also sought a meeting with South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, but the anti-apartheid icon was out of the country until the end of the month.
The rise to power of the left-leaning ANC unnerved some observers in the same way that Morales's election set off alarm bells in boardrooms — and in Washington.
Morales, a former union leader who, like Mandela, has a warm relationship with Cuba's Fidel Castro, has pledged to nationalize his country's oil and gas resources. As he wrapped up a visit to China on Monday, he declared that country his ideological ally.
In Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, Morales reassured political leaders and energy executives that his government will respect foreign capital. And he has found common ground with Bolivian business leaders, telling them he would work to attract foreign investment and create jobs.
Speaking after his half-hour meeting with Mbeki, Morales invited oil companies Wednesday to be "partners but not owners" in exploiting Bolivia's wealth.
He said Bolivia would be renegotiating contracts with foreign energy companies to take account of the surge in international gas prices, but promised no privately owned infrastructure would be nationalized.
"We will only own what is under the ground," he said.
Morales flies Thursday to Cape Town before leaving South Africa for Brazil.
Probably not one for the Evo alert list
(Morales invited oil companies Wednesday to be "partners but not owners" in exploiting Bolivia's wealth.)
Let's see how many suckers will bite.
I believe you're right.
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