Morales is going to bring great changes to Bolivia...

let's hope and pray they are both the good changes and the right changes... i certainly wish him the best...

With his left fist in the air and his right hand on his chest, Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, promised to recuperate the country's natural resources and to undertake drastic measures to uproot corruption in order to "save" Bolivia.

The leader of the leftist Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) predicted in his inaugural address Sunday the start of 500 years of government under indigenous rule, as a change from 500 years of struggle against colonialism and neo-colonialism.

"Under Morales, today marks the start of indigenous leadership on the continent, to tell the world that an end to discrimination has come with the government of native peoples," Vice-President Álvaro García told a rally in the downtown San Francisco plaza in La Paz, where Bolivians were celebrating with traditional Andean and Amazon jungle folk music after the inauguration ceremony in Congress.

Around a dozen heads of state and government attended the inauguration ceremony, including presidents Néstor Kirchner of Argentina, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Álvaro Uribe of Colombia, Alejandro Toledo of Peru and Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, as well as Crown Prince Felipe of Spain.

Chilean President Ricardo Lagos also paid a historic visit to Bolivia, to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Bolivia and Chile broke off diplomatic ties in 1978 after negotiations over Bolivia's demand for an outlet to the Pacific Ocean collapsed.

Bolivia was left landlocked when it was defeated by Chile in the 1879-1884 War of the Pacific.

Morales warmly expressed his gratitude for the visit by Lagos, the first Chilean president to attend an inaugural ceremony in Bolivia in 51 years.

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