Evo Morales : 10 Commandments to save the planet

[luke]

The 10 Commandments to save the planet

First Commandment: Consume only what is necessary, avoid extravagance, waste, luxury and the desire to get rich.

President Evo Morales told the United Nations that in order to save the planet, we must eradicate the capitalist model, and the North must pay its ecological debt. This was the first of Ten Commandments presented by the leader during the inauguration of the VII Indigenous Forum of the United Nations during a long speech that received high acclaim by those who attended the annual encounter.

Morales Ayma proposed ten commandments to save the world, life and humanity that require: respect for the earth, renouncing war, bilateral relations without imposition, clean energy and a rejection of bio-fuels, access to basic services, prioritizing local production, promotion of cultural diversity and living well through communitarian socialism in harmony with Mother Earth.

The President affirmed that there are two paths for humanity, life and planet earth; either we recover a way of living that is in harmony with Mother Earth and life, or we continue on the path of capitalism and death. Morales insisted that the only way to save the world is to end the way of thinking which foments individualistic egotism, and the thirst for profit.

"The enormous effects of climate change are not a product of human beings in general, rather the result of the existing capitalist system that is inhuman and predicated on unlimited 'industrial development'. For this reason I feel that it is important to stop the exploitation of human beings, and end the plunder of natural resources", said the head of state. "If we want to save the planet, we have to eradicate the capitalist model and the North must pay its ecological debt rather than the countries of the Global South and rest of the world paying external debts."

The second commandment, Morales explained is the concept of denouncing war, which only generates profit for the imperial powers, transnational corporations and a small group of families, but not the people. The millions and millions of dollars which are currently designated for war should be invested in the earth, which has been wounded, mistreated and overexploited.

Third - Relationships of co-existence rather than submission of one country to another must be achieved, in a world without imperialism or colonialism. Bi-lateral and multi-lateral relations are important, because we are a culture of dialogue and social co-existence, but these relations must not be based on the submission of one country to another.

Fourth - Water is a human right of all people living on the planet. It has been said that you can live without electricity, but not without water. Water is life. There should be no policies that permit the privatization of water. President Morales proposed an international convention on water to protect water sources as a human right, and to prevent privatization.

Fifth - Clean, environmentally friendly energies must be developed and we must stop wasting energy. In 100 years we will finish off fossil fuel deposits that took millions of years to create. "Avoid promoting bio-fuels. It is impossible to understand how some presidents and development models are setting aside lands to run luxury automobiles and not to produce food for people.

Morales proposed promoting debate among governments and creating conscience so that land benefits human beings rather than being used to produce fuel. He referred to pronouncements of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and expressed that for the first time, he is in agreement with both of those institutions on this issue.

Sixth - Respect Mother Earth. No expert or specialist can debate with Indigenous leaders on the issue of respect for Mother Earth. We should seek ways for the Indigenous movement to influence other social sectors, urban and rural, so that everyone understands that the earth is our mother.

Seventh - Basic services including water, electricity, education, health care, communication and transportation should be considered a human right, and should be publicly owned services rather than private businesses.

Eighth - Consume only what is necessary; prioritize what we produce and consume locally. Consumerism, extravagance and luxury must end. It is inconceivable that some families pursue luxury while millions and millions don't even have the possibility of 'living well'. He noted that while millions of people die of hunger each year, in other parts of the world millions of dollars are spent combating obesity.

Ninth - Promote the diversity of cultures and economies. We are so diverse, and even though the Indigenous movement has always been excluded, we are proposing unity in diversity. A Pluri-national State, in which all are included; white, brown and black.

Tenth - Live Well. The concept of 'living well' is not new. It is about recovering the way of our ancestors, to 'live well', which is not to "live better" at the cost of others. We must build a communitarian socialism in harmony with Mother Earth.

[faceless]

I had a look for the video, but could only find this... it's a clip of Evo promoting the idea of Mother Earth Day earlier this year. The music and dancing at the end seemed weird at first, but it's a great example of where he's coming from.

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