Bolivian President Arce Backs BRICS and the ‘Growing Clamor To Reconfigure the International Financial System’
Sept. 20, 2023, (EIRNS)—Addressing the afternoon session of the UNGA on Sept. 19, Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce (in Spanish) warned of the escalating violence in the Ukraine war, and of the collapsing Western financial system, urging the establishment of a “New Pact for the Future.” He singled out the potential role of the BRICS, to which Bolivia has already applied for membership. Excerpts follow:
“The capitalist system, in its efforts to impose its decadent hegemony, repeats practices of colonial domination and exploitation that should have already been overcome.... [It is] a savage system of capitalist exploitation... We are convinced that we are involved in the construction of a new World Order....
“We reiterate our profound concern over the escalation of violence in the conflict in East Europe, and the threats of various countries to worsen the situation through a confrontation with the use of weapons of mass destruction, weapons that use spent radioactive components and non-conventional weapons....
“We are at the edge of a crisis that worsens inequalities in the world and which, contrary to the objectives which we adopted in this same venue, deepen poverty on the planet....
“It is necessary to tear down as quickly as possible the unjust international order that overwhelms our peoples, and immediately sit down to discuss out, in the framework of the United Nations, the construction of a new pact for the future. From Bolivia, we have begun to discuss the possibility of a New Pact for the Future, but to do that we must recall the past, resolve the present, and prepare ourselves for the future....
“Eliminating poverty and inequality today will prevent unimaginable conflicts over economic and ecological distribution in the future.... For example, we must free up all transfer of technology that helps save lives and restores Mother Earth....
“In response (to the crisis), the Global South is rising up as never before, in a peaceful and constructive way, through regional and inter-regional processes of cooperation and integration. In that way, there is a growing clamor to reconfigure the international financial system and transform our understanding of what scientific development should be, respectful of Mother Earth, and of how to pursue it equitably....
“The emergence of trade blocs such as those in Asia, Africa, South America or the BRICS, today allows nations to gain access to international markets without the requirement of compromising their sovereignty.... (We must) banish the international system and implementation of unilateral sanctions and coercive measures.”
