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August 14, 2017

Bolivia: Indigenous Nations Protest as Maduro Signs Law Paving Way for Amazon Highway
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In Bolivia, indigenous people and environmentalists protested Sunday
against the government's move to resurrect plans to build a
controversial highway through indigenous territories and a national park
in the Amazon. Opponents of the highway say it will further the
deforestation of the Amazon and destroy the land and livelihoods of
indigenous communities. On Sunday, Bolivian President Evo Morales signed
into law the controversial legislation stripping a national park of its
protected status, paving the way for the highway's construction. This is
indigenous leader Fernando Vargas.

Fernando Vargas: "Morales is going to enact a law today which will bury
indigenous peoples, Bolivian people's heritage. And he is also driving a
dagger into Bolivians, because he is destroying the heritage that
belongs to Bolivia, just like Nicolás Maduro does in Venezuela."



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