PRESS RELEASE
Peruvian and Bolivian Leaders Issue Declaration To Cooperate on Bi-Oceanic Railroad
Nov. 4, 2016 (EIRNS)—Today, at the conclusion of a three-day meeting of their respective cabinets in Sucre, Bolivia, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczyinski (PPK) and Bolivian President Evo Morales signed a "Declaration of Sucre," which, among other things, commits both governments to building a bi-oceanic railroad and related port and highway infrastructure.
The route agreed to will go from Ilo in Peru (whose port must be expanded), through the Bolivian cities of Santa Cruz, Oruro, and La Paz, and on to the Brazilian port of Santos. According to Peru’s Vice President Martin Vizcarra, who is also Transportation Minister, "besides a specific Memorandum of Understanding on the Peru-Bolivia bi-oceanic corridor, with [corresponding] timeframes and goals," the two governments also signed agreements to build four other transporation corridors.
Although PPK reiterated during his meeting with Morales that the China-backed northern Brazil-Peru rail route proposed at the 2014 BRICS summit in Brazil, is "too expensive" and "damaging to the environment" and should be rejected, China, and specifically the China Railway Company, is still very much interested in that proposed route. In the context of the emerging New Paradigm, and growing Chinese involvement in building Ibero-American infrastructure, there is no reason why it shouldn’t be built, along with many other such projects. PPK may recognize that China is a leading force in the new global reality, but his 40-odd years of service to Wall Street and London shouldn’t be overlooked.
Morales was pleased with the result of the bi-national cabinet meeting. He describes the rail project as the "Panama Canal of the 21st Century," or the Qhapac Ñan—the route that united the Inca Empire or Tawantinsuyo. Given current tensions with Chile, and a strike at the Chinean port of Arica through which most of Bolivia’s shipments leave for Asia, Morales is anxious to seal a long-term deal to use the Peruvian port of Ilo. According to informacion.com, the Peruvian Congress is currently considering a 2010 agreement which, if approved, would grant Bolivia a contract to use the port for 99 years.
