Evo Morales has been sworn in as Bolivias first indigenous president, pledging to end “500 years of injustice and inequality” against his people, BBC Online reports Monday.
– We are here to change our history… we are taking over, Mr Morales said. He reaffirmed his pledge to “recover” the country’s natural resources by renationalising them.
The 46-year-old former llama herder and coca leaf farmer said the free-market model did not work in Bolivia, and that the privatisation of basic services and natural resources should be reversed.
– When we talk about recovering the territory we are talking about recovering the natural resources, and these need to be in the hands of the Bolivian people and the Bolivian state, he said.
Mr Morales is a fierce critic of the US and sees his election as a triumph for indigenous peoples.
Thousands of his supporters were also present at Saturdays indigenous ceremonies at the archaeological remains of the Tiwanaku civilisation 65km from La Paz.
Here Mr Morales made a private offering to Pachamama, or Mother Earth, of sweets, wine and flowers, before moving to the pre-Inca temple of Kalasasaya.
There, barefoot and dressed as a sun priest and in front of thousands of supporters, he received the baton, encrusted with gold, silver and bronze, that will symbolise his Indian leadership, BBC adds.
