For the Bolivian opposition, the trip of the president Evo Morales to Russia on the opening date of the World Cup demonstrates waste of public spending

More than 20 heads of state attended the opening match of the World Cup in Russia, among which was the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales; the president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela; and the leader of Paraguay, Horacio Cartes. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, clarified that the list of guests referred only to those who were present at the opening ceremony of the sports tournament. However, throughout the World Cup, more visits from other important leaders are expected. This is the third consecutive occasion that the Bolivian leader attends the inauguration of the World Cup. Morales' trip to Moscow has been criticized by the opposition because of its high cost.

Leer en español: Evo Morales: por tercera vez consecutiva el mandatario boliviano acude a la inauguración del Mundial

The taste of the Bolivian president for soccer is not a secret. However, for the Bolivian opposition headed by Samuel Doria Medina, "the president's tastes are expensive for the nation, the president has the right to use his free time as he likes, but the waste of the public herald must be explained." For his part, Foreign Minister Fernando Huanacuni justified the president's assistance to Russia. "We have worked the agenda for months," he said, adding that Morales attended the opening party at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bolivian opposition gave a symbolic gift to President Evo Morales: a ball, a glass and a cushion allusive to the World Cup of Russia 2018, to ask him not to travel to Moscow and that the funds of the trip be earmarked for the well-being of Bolivians. This request was denied, as the president did not receive the gifts and Morales began his trip without mishap.

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$ 340,000 for the trip

The political scientist Carlos Sánchez Berzain, director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy, estimates that the trip of the Bolivian president will cost 340 thousand dollars, which is almost a tradition for the president. Berzain recalls that Morales has attended the inaugurations of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014, without the Bolivian football team attending the World Cup event.

For the businessman Samuel Doria Medina, "this is but a pretext. The trip of a president to a country like Russia requires a special agenda, and Putin will be very busy," he said before Morales embarked on the trip. As a result of these criticisms, the country's chancellery announced both the agenda that the president had in Russia and the one he will have in the following two destinations: Holland and China. According to data from the Bolivian presidency, Evo Morales and Vladimir Putin held their meeting and signed an investment agreement close to 1,000 million dollars. For Foreign Minister Huanacuni, "the signing of the agreement demonstrates the seriousness and commitment of the president to the country, Bolivian businessmen are waiting for the agreements to become effective." The agreement covers the hydrocarbons, mining and technology sectors.

The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, began his trip on Tuesday, June 12 to meet a work agenda in Russia, Holland, and China, nations where he will hold important meetings. According to the press office of the chancellery, the agenda had been planned in advance in order to make investment agreements and agreements that strengthen the development of the Andean country.

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The agenda of discord

On June 13 and 14, Evo Morales met with President Vladimir Putin and high-ranking national government figures in order to promote rapprochement between the two countries. On the 14th, the president attended the inaugural party of the soccer World Cup. Subsequently, on June 16 and 17, preparatory meetings will be held for Bolivia's response to Chile's demand in this court over Silala waters, meetings that will take place in the Netherlands. Next, the president will travel to Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, from June 19 to 20, in order to establish important trade agreements.

The Bolivian team has only qualified for the World Cup played in 1994 in the United States, and had to measure itself in the opening match with Germany that was attended by the then president of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (1993-1997 and 2002-2003). Evo Morales has only missed the World Cup in Germany in 2006 when he was recently inaugurated in the presidential office.

Latin American Post | Carlos Eduardo Gómez Avella

Translated from "Evo Morales: por tercera vez consecutiva el mandatario boliviano acude a la inauguración del Mundial"