URGENT: for a GMO free Bolivia

A law is about to be approved in Bolivia that will mean the legalization of GM crops. The decision will be taken in the next few days.

Please urgently support the Bolivian organizations so that the country is free of GMOs.

Send the letter below to President Evo Morales at the following address:

correo@presidencia.gob.bo

with a copy to:

luis.alfaro@diputados.gob.bo

and to Karen Pomier: karen@soberanialimentaria.org.bo

Mother Earth will thank you

RALLT

===

To His Excellency the President of the State of Bolivia

In response to the alert from the social movements of Bolivia about the next consideration by the Legislative Assembly of the Law of Productive Community Agricultural Revolution, as well as recent statements by the Minister of Autonomy, Carlos Romero Bonifaz and the elation expressed by sectors linked to transnational agribusiness interests, at the opening up of Bolivia to the production and marketing of GMOs, we express our deep concern about the following:

You were the hope of environmental movements in the region and around the world, thus earning the trust we place in you, as the plurinational Bolivian State's first indigenous president, our hope as the shaper of the planetary changes needed when you said: "I am convinced that GM products do much damage. There is scientific evidence. Some, for sure ignore what I'm saying, but at some time all the world will recognise that we are right,” and then your excellency suggested that Bolivia be GM-free territory. (Sucre April 28, 2010).

Bolivia approved the new Constitution for the Plurinational State in January 2009, which, in Article 255 determines that the international relations and the negotiation, signing and ratification of treaties will be guided by "the principle of prohibition of the import, production and marketing of genetically modified and toxic elements that can damage health and the environment" ensuring food security and sovereignty of all the people.

While Article 409 of the CPE notes that the production, import and commercialization of GMOs will be regulated by law, we understood from their statements that this referred to GM soy approved in 2005, before you became president and that you had a commitment to the social organizations to reverse this situation.

Because of its geographical situation and the ancestral knowledge of its Indigenous peoples and peasants, Bolivia is a center of origin and diversity of many crops that have been the mainstay of the most important South American civilizations, which contributed to humanity the many varieties of corn, potatoes, quinoa, Amazon nuts. beans, chili, peppers, peanuts, Andean roots, etc, wealth which until today is cared for by Bolivian farmers who continue to contribute to food sovereignty worldwide. The GM crops undermine this wealth that helps to alleviate the world food crisis.

We are surprised that the bill called Productive Community Agricultural Revolution opens the country to GM through Articles 15 and 19. We fear that the hidden intentions of this bill are to carry out the largest attack on food sovereignty of peoples of the world by polluting the center of diversity for maize (by many scientists currently seen as the center of origin) is the Andean region, precisely where Bolivia is located. And on the other hand, we see the intention to introduce GM sugar cane and jatropha for the biofuels industry that they intend to implement in the Andean part of the Amazon region.

We trust that the government will reflect and correct these errors consistent with the defense of Mother Earth.

*************************************