LA PAZ, June 19 (PNA/Xinhua) -- At least 2
million Bolivians have been lifted out of extreme poverty in the past eight
years, the Bolivian Information Agency (ABI) said on Wednesday.
Figures show President Evo Morales' policies
have had a "great impact" on society, ABI cited Deputy Minister of
Budget and Fiscal Accounting, Jaime Duran, as saying.
In 2005, extreme poverty affected some 38
percent of the population, according to Duran, while in 2013 that figure
dropped to 20 percent.
"That means that some 2 million people
have been lifted from extreme poverty, so the social policies of Morales'
administration have had a great impact on Bolivia," said Duran.
Morales has redistributed the country's wealth
through government programs that benefit children, mothers and the elderly, he
said.
The government aims to eradicate extreme
poverty by 2025, the year Bolivia celebrates the bicentennial of its
independence from colonial rule "and we can all have enough income for our
subsistence," Duran said.
As Bolivia's 80th president
and first indigenous president, Morales was first elected in 2005 and reelected
in 2009. (PNA/Xinhua)
JBP/EBP
JBP/EBP
