Morales attacks 'Western pillagers' at EU summit

A summit of European and Latin American countries was blown off course before it began on May 11 as Bolivia's president claimed that nationalization of energy resources was a natural reaction to five centuries of foreign pillaging. At the start of the biggest diplomatic event in Austria since the Congress of Vienna, Evo Morales, the new Bolivian president, defended a decision to bring natural gas resources under state control, saying foreign firms had "betrayed" Bolivia. "For more than 500 years, our resources have been pillaged. This has to end now," he said at the beginning of a meeting expected to be dominated by energy and trade issues. The Bolivian president said he was "not going to limit ourselves to oil resources," adding: "We are also to finish with huge land ownership, especially on unproductive lands." The abrupt nationalization of Bolivian energy resources has caused alarm in Spain, the UK and France, all of which have large energy investments in Bolivia. Morales has given foreign firms six months to renegotiate contracts, and said that he was looking for "partners–not bosses–to exploit our natural resources." He added: "Before, Bolivia was considered to be a no-man's land. Now, it belongs to its own people, particularly its indigenous peoples." European leaders tried to play down the rift with Bolivia and Spain's prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The Spanish energy giant Repsol-YPF, which controls 25.7 percent of Bolivian gas production, has privately urged ministers to try to calm the situation. BP, British Gas and France's Total also have big investments in the country. But the comments from Morales will hardly have reassured them. He accused foreign oil firms of acting illegally, saying dozens of contracts secretly negotiated without congressional approval were unconstitutional, and claiming Bolivian ownership of foreign assets and investments. Morales argued: "There are companies in Bolivia that don't respect Bolivian laws. They have betrayed our country." Diplomats argued that the Bolivian president and his close ally Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's president, were in a different category to more center-left heads of government such as Brazil's more centrist president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. In fact the Bolivian nationalization has hit Brazilian interests, straining relations between the two governments. Chávez is also expected to defend his moves to increase taxes on foreign energy firms in Venezuela.