Bolivia threatens to expel unfriendly NGOs

Bolivia welcomes legitimate nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and those working for intelligence agencies would be expelled, President Evo Morales said on Thursday.

"Well-meaning NGOs that want to help the government eradicate extreme poverty are welcome," Morales told reporters at a press conference in the presidential palace.

"But we don't need an NGO using social and environmental movements to create opposition and to conspire" against the state, he added.

In 2008, Bolivia expelled Washington-based humanitarian aid agency USAID, accusing it of trying to impose unpopular agrarian programs while supporting political factions opposed to the government.

Morales also noted that NGOs fulfilled a role when governments were either unable or uninterested in implementing social programs to improve living standards, which is no longer the case in Bolivia.

According to official data, between 2005 and 2014, Bolivia cut extreme poverty from 38.3 percent to 17.8 percent of the population, and reduced moderate poverty from 60.6 percent to 37.7 percent.