Bolivia announces gas deal with Argentina

Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Monday that Bolivia will sign a new agreement with Argentina on Thursday to boost gas exports, according to reports reaching here.

The new agreement, including the building of a gas-to-liquids plant in Bolivia, is proof that nationalization is working, Morales told a rally in El Alto, commemorating the third anniversary of the demonstrations that resulted in the death of at least 60 people, and triggered the then president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's resignation.

Sanchez de Lozada had proposed selling Bolivia's natural gas to the United States, using a 5-billion-U.S.-dollar pipeline through neighboring Chile.

Morales thanked the El Alto audience for their demonstration against the contract to export gas to the United States, and for the sacrifice made by 60 of their fellow countrymen. He also called for the United States to "expel Sanchez de Lozada, if they really care about democracy and human rights".

Morales noted his government, which he described as "nationalist, pro-indigenous and left-wing", remains very determined to change the old structures of Bolivia.

He said that the reform project would continue, despite all opposition, including what he called "financial terrorists" who are constantly saying that the Bolivian economy is doomed.

Source: Xinhua