Morales slams US imposition of policies through military coups, dictatorships

Describing Washington’s current policy as one of “military expansion,” the Latin American president said on Sunday that the US continues to use tactics such as “government coups and military dictatorships” to impose its policies “in the pursuit of geopolitical interests.”
 
Morales made the remarks in an interview with RT’s Spanish-language channel in Brussels, where he was attending the EU-CELAC summit of European, Latin American and Caribbean leaders.
 
“Everything is well here in Latin America,” Morales further emphasized, adding, “Bolivia is showing significant economic growth due to the fact that we have gained political independence. The US no longer governs our country through its embassy and doesn’t make decisions for us.”
 
He also slammed the US-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) for dictating its economic policies on nations through its loan programs, indicating that Bolivia no longer allows the Fund to set economic policies for his country.
 
“The IMF doesn’t decide for us in the economy sector,” he said.
 
Morales further called on European nations to rid themselves of US political domination as well as IMF’s economic “dictates.”
 
“I would want to conclude an alliance with Europe to free ourselves together from [the US] imperial dominance and its neocolonial mentality, which seeks hegemony,” said Morales, urging Europe “to get rid of the US political influence” and “economically free themselves from the International Monetary Fund’s dictate.”
 
During the interview with RT, the Bolivian president also underlined that he is “very sorry that, instead of freeing themselves from the shackles of the North American Empire, some countries continue to live in its submission.”
 
He went on to highlight the significance of social equality, saying that it is as important as world peace and calling on the EU to come up with social programs to fight poverty.
 
Morales has been a strong critic of Washington’s policies, particularly with regards to Latin American nations.
 
US relations with Bolivia deteriorated further in 2013 after the grounding of a passenger plane carrying Morales in Vienna. While heading home on a flight from Moscow in July of that year, several EU nations closed their airspace to his plane on the suspicion that former contractor of the American NSA spy agency Edward Snowden – wanted in the US on espionage charges – was on board his jet.
 
Bolivia then blamed the US for the grounding of the presidential plane, and Morales threatened to shut down the US embassy in La Paz.