WikiLeaks paper proves US imperialists "foresaw" a corporate coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia already since 2009
The WIKILEAKS Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD)
holds the world's largest searchable collection of United States
confidential, or formerly confidential, diplomatic communications. As of
April 8, 2013 it holds 2 million records comprising approximately 1
billion words. The collection covers US involvements in, and diplomatic
or intelligence reporting on, every country on earth. It is the single
most significant body of geopolitical material ever published. The PlusD
collection, built and curated by WikiLeaks, is updated from a variety
of sources, including leaks, documents released under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) and documents released by the US State Department
systematic declassification review.
An early 2009 cable from the US embassy in La Paz - Bolivia, is particularly revealing because it proves that the US imperialists were monitoring closely Bolivia's attempt under the Evo Morales presidency to become self-sufficient on exploiting rich Lithium reserves in Salar de Uyuni.
Impressively, it seems that the initial information about the very rich reserves of the region had been provided by the Western corporate media info army. This can be seen clearly in the summary at the beginning of the cable where we read that "Recent articles from BBC, the New York Times, and business journals have created substantial buzz about the reportedly large reserves of lithium contained in Bolivia's Uyuni salt flat."
More impressively, it seems that the US imperialists were seeking to take advantage of the pilot plant by Bolivia's state mining company, in order to determine whether it would be economically viable to exploit the uncertain then mining status of the specific region. This can be identified several times inside the cable:
... the true quantity of lithium and viability of any mining project will not be known until after the start-up of state mining company COMIBOL's pilot plant in April ...
The plant is expected to start production in April 2009, and until that time the feasibility of extraction is not known.
A pilot plant would be necessary to determine whether the mineral can be economically extracted ...
The Uyuni salt flat represents a reserve that has yet to be sufficiently explored: until the pilot plant shows results, it will not be known if the lithium can be economically extracted.
It would be worth to note at this point that according to a 2009 Foreign Policy article, Uyuni salt flat contains 50% to 70% of the world's known lithium reserves.
And even more impresively, the final comment at the end of the cable contains a pretty "astonishing" conclusion. That "Bolivia will be the loser if investors decide they would rather play a different game ..."
Well, it took ten years to learn what this "different game" would be, through the coup against Evo Morales during 2019 general election.
Recall that, on July 24, 2020, Tesla’s Elon Musk wrote on Twitter that a second U.S. “government stimulus package is not in the best interests of the people.” Someone responded to Musk soon after, “You know what wasn’t in the best interest of people? The U.S. government organizing a coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia so you could obtain the lithium there.” Musk then wrote: “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”
Cable's most important parts: [emphasis added]
Recent articles from BBC, the New York
Times, and business journals have created substantial buzz
about the reportedly large reserves of lithium contained in
Bolivia's Uyuni salt flat. On February 11, Bolivia's National
Mining Director Freddy Beltran announced that four
companies--Japan's Mitsubishi and Sumitomo, Frances' Bollore,
and Korea's LG--have expressed interest in the Uyuni deposit.
Estimates of the grade and the recoverability of the deposit
vary greatly, and the true quantity of lithium and viability
of any mining project will not be known until after the
start-up of state mining company COMIBOL's pilot plant in
April (even then data may not be made public). The Bolivian government, through the state mining company COMIBOL, has
begun construction of a small pilot plant to investigate lithium
extraction methods in Uyuni. The plant is expected to start production in April 2009, and until that time the feasibility of extraction is not known. In
a 2008 meeting, Emboff spoke with Engineer Huascar Guzman of the Oruro
Departmental Mining Ministry, who said that the department has high
hopes for exploitation of the Coipasa salt flat's non-metallic deposits
(primarily sodium chloride with recoverable levels of potassium and some
lithium.) According to Guzman, Potosi's Uyuni salt flat has higher
levels of lithium and therefore has attracted more international
interest ... A pilot plant would be necessary to determine whether the mineral can be economically extracted,
and Guzman said that the prefecture would expect to form 50/50 joint
ventures with any interested investors. The national government also
expects to maintain an interest in any production at Coipasa, suggesting
that potential investors will face two levels of governmental oversight
and participation. Increasing
governmental involvement in mining--the new constitution puts the State
in charge of every step of the mining process--is a barrier to
international investment interest, however. The Bolivian government's
stated intention that any lithium mining be "value added" (that is, that
lithium batteries would be made in Bolivia) has also caused some
investor concern: Bolivia's land-locked location and
relatively-untrained workforce do not make it a promising location for
high-technology production. Nationalist
sentiment over the lithium reserves is growing, and state mining
company COMIBOL has been unwilling to begin working with international
investors until the small COMIBOL pilot plant has shown the best
processes for lithium extraction. Government officials have stated that
they look to international investors for "technical support" but not as
full partners. According to Saul Villegas, head of state mining
company COMIBOL's lithium division: "The previous imperialist model of
exploitation of our natural resources will never be repeated in Bolivia.
Maybe there could be the possibility of foreigners accepted as minority
partners or, better yet, as our clients." Many
industry observers worry that the Bolivian government has neither the
capacity nor wherewithal to successfully exploit the lithium reserves on
an economic scale and that President Morales's history of
nationalization (of hydrocarbons and companies such as Italian telecom
giant ENTEL) will discourage necessary investment. The
Uyuni salt flat represents a reserve that has yet to be sufficiently
explored: until the pilot plant shows results, it will not be known if
the lithium can be economically extracted. Politics also affect the
economics of extraction, and the Bolivian government's fundamental
antipathy toward capitalism and multinational companies (even non-U.S.
companies) will serve to make Uyuni lithium more difficult to extract
and therefore more costly. The
current hype about Bolivia's lithium reserves has encouraged the
Bolivian government to begin a game of "gotcha" with potential
investors, but Bolivia will be the loser if investors decide they would rather play a different game in a country where the rules of play are more stable and the dice are not loaded against them. |
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