The Washington Post has a story on Morales’ Tuesday and Wednesday visit to Washington, DC, where he spoke at American University, was jeered at the OAS, and visited the Lincoln memorial.
For his part, Morales seemed to place great hopes in Obama’s election, saying on several occasions that the two men had much in common as emerging leaders of long-oppressed groups in their respective countries. His first stop in Washington on Tuesday was the Lincoln Memorial, where he placed a wreath and spoke briefly of the struggle for justice and dignity.
“Who would have believed 10 or 15 years ago that I could become president of Bolivia? Who would have believed 20 or 30 years ago that a black man could become president of the United States?” he said to the OAS special session, speaking in Spanish.
“The world is changing. The struggles of Tupac Amaru were not in vain,” he said, referring to the last emperor of the Incas. “The struggles of Lincoln were not in vain. The struggles of Martin Luther King were not in vain.”
I wonder whose idea it was to go to the Lincoln memorial. Comments like the ones above, and appearances like the successful Daily Show visit, gets non-Bolivians on his side. They see a likable, idealistic fellow, but it is simply not so black and white.