In this letter to the Washington Post, Evo Morales responds to some accusations made against him. Evo Morales is a member of the Bolivian congress and president of the Movement Towards Socialism.

Former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada leveled a series of accusations and insults against me and the poor majority in Bolivia whom I represent [op-ed, Nov. 13]. I would like to set the record straight. Bolivia is undergoing a difficult situation as a result of policies imposed by international financial institutions and implemented by our national governments – most recently by Sanchez de Lozada – that have left the country in ruin. The neoliberal model has failed in Bolivia; it has caused only more of a division between rich and poor. In an effort to recover from this state of affairs, Bolivia’s majority proposes re-founding the nation, heeding the demands made during this year’s October protests, including modifying the process by which we exploit natural resources (including fossil fuels) so that it benefits all Bolivians, not only transnational companies and the upper class; convening a constitutional assembly to construct a new, more inclusive social pact; decriminalizing the coca leaf so that we may maintain our traditions and industrialize the leaf to tap its medicinal properties; repealing Decree 21060, which for 15 years has reduced the living standards of workers; finding a comprehensive solution to the problem of land and territory, including agrarian reform; and heeding the widespread rejection of the Free Trade Area of the Americas by the poor majority.

The so-called gas war that engulfed Bolivia from Sept. 19 to Oct. 17 was a popular response to the government’s plan to export liquid natural gas at extremely low prices to the Mexican and U.S. markets. Yet it also was a struggle to support the demands against neoliberal policies.

The Sanchez de Lozada administration’s response to the people’s demands was violence, death and pain. In just one month, 81 people were assassinated – all of them unarmed protesters. During Sanchez de Lozada’s 14 months in office, 155 Bolivians were killed.

Sanchez de Lozada claims that “Bolivia could become the Afghanistan of the Andes, a failed state that exports drugs and disorder.” The majority have a different vision: Bolivia as a worldwide example of dignity that can defeat neoliberalism.

Most Bolivians do not want “a devastating civil war,” as the former president says. Instead we want profound changes through a peaceful process. Based on the demonstrations of solidarity among social groups, Bolivians have shown their openness to change, their determination to be heard, and their desire for a more just and democratic world. It is time for Bolivians to take power over their destiny, rather than have the country’s course be determined by foreign economic interests.

Cochabamba, Bolivia