Above: More than 400 officers graduated from Bolivia’s military academy, the School of Anti-Imperialism, established in 2016. | Photo: ABI
Bolivian President Evo Morales has attended the graduation of 407 military officers from the School of Anti-Imperialism in Bolivia, highlighting the importance of the Bolivian Armed Forces in defending sovereignty.
“We are convinced that the liberation of a people comes with the anti-imperialist struggle not only in Bolivia, but rather in the whole world,” Morales said during the ceremony Friday.
“Why must humanity struggle? Because there is injustice, there is inequality. Some models only seek hegemony, only seek natural resources to take them.”
Also in attendance was Bolivian Vice-President Álvaro García Linera, along with ministers of defense and communication.
Morales praised the importance of the school, saying that it is the only one of its type in the world and represents an example of how a military can fight for the “liberation of the people.”
El país ya no es la colonia de antes y no podemos defraudar a Bolivia. Debemos aportar desde donde nos corresponde con compromiso, ideas, ser creativos para dar seguridad al pueblo boliviano. pic.twitter.com/p0jZHRdloC
— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) December 8, 2017
The country is not the colony of before and we cannot betray Bolivia. We must contribute, from where we can, with commitment, ideas, and creativity to give security to the Bolivian people.
The school was opened last year in an explicit effort to ensure the Bolivian military is “anti-imperialist” in character in order to defend the nation’s sovereignty and counter U.S. attempts at hegemony in the region.
Head of the School of Anti-Imperialism, Ivan Danilo Novillo, said the armed forces in Bolivia have their roots in anti-colonial struggles, and that the institution is helping restore that legacy. “We can never co-habitate and co-exist with an empire,” Novillo said.