I HERO 2000: Uruguay Prez Says Legalize Drugs

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg@tin.it>]

December 22, 2000

BREAKING NEWS

Please Distribute Widely

Uruguay President says "Legalize Drugs"

Jorge Batlle, First Américan Chief of State
to Openly Oppose US Drug War

In the past month, Batlle said it twice in front of international
correspondents and nobody outside of Uruguay reported the news

Narco News Declares Jorge Batlle "Hero of the Year" for 2000

http://www.narconews.com/heroyear2000.html

Excerpts from this major news story:

What if an elected president of an Américan nation called for the
legalization of drugs and nobody outside of his country reported it?

That's what happened twice in the past month when Uruguay President Jorge
Batlle called for other Latin American leaders to join him in opposing
US-imposed drug policy.

"If this powder was worth only ten cents, there would not be organizations
dedicated to make a billion dollars to fund armies in Colombia," said
Batlle, speaking about cocaine policy on November 20th at the 10th Latin
American Summit of Heads of State in Panama City.

Batlle (pronounced baht-yuh) said other countries must confront the question
of legalization. "How do you create the money that sustains all of this? Do
you believe that while this substance has this fantastic market value that
there is any mechanism that can impede its trafficking? How do you make this
product lose value so that nobody is interested anymore in this business?"

The 72-year-old Uruguay leader, elected in November of 1999 in his fifth run
for the presidency, said that the countries of América "must stop playing
games and treat the theme of drugs seriously at its root. And if I am wrong,
then why are we afraid to ask ourselves the question?"

...Then, on December 1st, Batlle traveled to Mexico City to attend the
inauguration of President Vicente Fox.

There, according to El Observador in his home country, Batlle made his
strongest challenge to US-imposed drug policy yet. "The day that it is
legalized in the United States, it will lose value," said the president of
Uruguay. "And if it loses value, there will be no profit. But as long as the
US citizenry doesn't rise up to do something, they will pass this life
fighting and fighting."

Batlle, in Mexico City early this month, compared the drug problem to that
caused by alcohol prohibition in the United States (1918-1933), saying that
the drug trafficking problem "will be resolved on the day that the consumers
announce that this cannot be fixed by any other manner than changing this
situation in the same way that was done with the 'Dry Laws'."

Of Plan Colombia, he said, "You have to think about the origin of the thing.
Basically, where is this consumed? A minimum of 50 percent is consumed in
the United States. It seems fine with me that my friend Pastrana (the
Colombian president) tries to improve education, health and roads… but this
doesn't resolve the problem."

And Batlle added that he has personally proposed the legalization solution
to US President Bill Clinton.

América now has its first elected president on record as calling for the
legalization of drugs.