Bolivian leader hails economic progress during decade in office

In a speech celebrating 10 years of his administration on Friday, Bolivian President Evo Morales highlighted the economic progress the country has made under his watch.

In a five-hour speech, Morales also hailed other achievements of his government, including restoring the rights of indigenous people and helping the poor through a raft of social initiatives.

The indigenous president stated that from 2006 to 2015 the Bolivian economy has grown at an average rate of 5 percent a year along with an average increase of 6 percent in inflation, the lowest in the region.

Furthermore, he noted that the country's foreign reserves has grown by 376 percent from 3.17 billion U.S. dollars in 2006 to 15.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2015.

The increased resources, Morales said, has been utilized judiciously, with public investment up from 870 million U.S. dollars in 2006 to nearly 6.18 billion dollars in 2015. ' Morales also compared his track record over the decade to that of the "neoliberal governments" who had ruled Bolivia for 20 years.

"Real GDP growth, from 1986 to 2005, averaged 3.2 percent. In 10 years of leadership, we reached 5 percent. In 2005, GDP was 9 billion U.S. dollars. By 2015, we stood at a total GDP of 33.794 billion U.S. dollars," he said. Endi