Quote

It's easy for people in an air-conditioned room to continue with the policies of destruction of Mother Earth. We need instead to put ourselves in the shoes of families in Bolivia and worldwide that lack water and food and suffer misery and hunger.

When you put gas in your car you are making a political statement, because you are supporting the empires that control and continue the destruction of some countries.

I want Bolivians to support their president.

What we're trying to do is address something I saw in Congress that was a major problem, which is to say that energy is arguably the most fundamental issue confronting our country.

There are those of us that believe if you truly want to try drive down the cost of gas, if you really want to solve the problem, then you should be pursuing the extraction of our resources that are right here at home: alternative energy and traditional.

I want to stress that at no time Bolivia acts untimely or irresponsibly.

We need policy change, and the most important thing people can do is to contribute and participate in the political process. We have to vote climate change deniers and people who will create subsidies for the fossil fuel industry out of office. We have to protest when bad decisions are being made about fracking or tar sands.

We do have serious energy needs for the country, we are aware that natural gas is especially in demand because of its air quality benefits: 90 percent of new power plants have been natural gas-powered.

I have acknowledged the problem and have spent my time in Congress focusing on solutions - including developing clean and efficient energy that grows our economy and creates jobs while also lowering pollution levels and protecting the environment.

We are starting a process of decolonization in Bolivia. All this is bringing about change and we will continue.