Bolivia Protects Itself By Kicking Out USAID

(The image above of U.S. imperialism is from the website Feral Scholar.)

Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, is doing something that will probably shock most Americans. He is kicking a U.S. government agency (USAID) out of that country. Morales claims the agency is trying to undermine his government. He called the agency's presence an "open provocation. . .to countries that have liberated themselves from imperialism", and said, "Surely to think that you can still manipulate us economically, politically. . .those times are past."

Spokesmen for the agency denied Morale's charges, claiming they were just there to help the people of Bolivia. That's disingenuous at best -- and probably just an outright lie. The agency admits on its website that it has a two-fold purpose -- saying it has a "history that both reflects the American people's compassion and support of human dignity as well as advances U.S. foreign policy interests."

I put those last words in bold print because I believe that is the primary purpose of the agency. It was created to advance the foreign policy interests of the United States, and has been used to do that throughout its history. The aid it provides ($26 million last year to Bolivia) is just a tool with which to accomplish the foreign policy goals of the United States.

The U.S. government has opposed President Morales since he was elected, because he is a leftist who puts the good of the Bolivian people above the interests of the United States (and its corporations). I don't doubt at all that the agency has been actively trying to undermine the democratically-elected Bolivian government.

I applaud the action of President Morales, and believe he is acting in the best interests of the Bolivian people. Far too often, U.S. "aid" comes with onerous strings attached -- strings that do more to hurt than help the people of the country receiving the "aid", and are designed only to help American corporate and government interests. Morales is simply cutting the strings of American imperialism.