From my standpoint, coca should be neither destroyed nor completely legalized. Farming should be controlled by the state and by the coca farmers' unions.

Playing sports has always been my greatest pleasure. I don't smoke, I hardly drink alcohol. Sports helped get me into the presidential palace. My first position in the union was that of sports secretary.

There was no private property in the past. Everything was communal property. In the Indian community where I was born, everything belonged to the community. This way of life is more equitable.

The U.S. should be equally responsible for diminishing the cocaine market within the United States as it is in fighting the drug elsewhere.

Chavez's oil is unimportant for Bolivia... We are not dependent on Venezuela. We complement each other. Venezuela shares its wealth with other countries, but that doesn't make us subordinate.

Natural disasters in Bolivia have been getting worse with the passage of time. It's brought about by a system: the capitalist system, the unbridled industrialization of the resources of the Planet Earth.

From my standpoint, coca should be neither destroyed nor completely legalized. Farming should be controlled by the state and by the coca farmers' unions.