[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2138-E2139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING FORMER PRESIDENT JORGE QUIROGA RAMIREZ OF THE REPUBLIC OF 
                                BOLIVIA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. J. DENNIS HASTERT

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 22, 2002

  Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, I, along with the co-chairmen of the 
Speaker's Task Force for a Drug Free America, want to recognize Jorge 
Quiroga Ramirez, former President of the Republic of Bolivia, for his 
years of steadfast support, commitment and leadership in the fight 
against illegal drugs.
  Most of us first met Jorge Quiroga in the early days of the 
Administration of former President Hugo Banzer, when he served as Vice 
President of Bolivia. He came to Washington early on in his tenure to 
seek U.S. support and backing for Bolivia's ``Dignity Plan''--a five 
year strategy to remove Bolivia from the international narcotics 
circuit. At the time he assumed office in August of 1997, Bolivia was 
the world's second largest producer of cocaine with nearly 113,000 
acres of coca under cultivation.
  The Dignity Plan that was presented to the U.S. Administration and 
the Congress was the product of a well-conceived political strategy 
designed to build domestic consensus within Bolivia against the drug 
trade. Late in 1997, civic, religious, labor, indigenous, private 
sector and political leaders met together under the leadership of then-
Vice President Quiroga, in what was called the National Dialogue, a 
series of discussions and consensus-building meetings around four 
pillars: Opportunity (economic issues), Equity (social development), 
Integrity (institutional strengthening) and Dignity (fight against 
drugs). This last pillar, focused on how to move Bolivia out of the 
international drug trade circuit by 2002.
  As a result, the Dignity Plan began its implementation by the end of 
1997, with ambitious goals centered on four areas: Interdiction, 
Eradication, Alternative Development and Prevention.
  We in Congress have occasionally heard foreign leaders make eloquent 
statements about their plans to reduce drug cultivation and work with 
the U.S. to end this scourge--plans that ultimately were not 
successful. Bolivia proved how such a program can be truly successful.
  There were two things about the Dignity Plan that we found appealing. 
First, it was the product of an extensive discussion within Bolivian 
civil society, seeking to eliminate the drug trafficking stereotype for 
which this Andean country was known. Second, we found in Vice President 
Quiroga an honest and sincere individual whose commitment to Bolivia's 
future as a drug free country mirrored our own commitments here at 
home. Vice President Quiroga was precisely the kind of straight-
talking, action-oriented leader that we believed was required to take 
real and meaningful action. A great many of us signed on to the Dignity 
Plan and did our best to provide political and financial support.
  Over the past five years, as Vice President of Bolivia and later as 
President, Jorge Quiroga implemented the Dignity Plan with stunning 
success. This past August, President Quiroga turned over the Office to 
his democratically elected successor, the Honorable

[[Page E2139]]

Bonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. It is with great satisfaction we now take a 
look back at former President Quiroga's efforts and see how successful 
the Dignity Plan has been and what our investment in his vision earned.
  Since the outset of the Dignity Plan in late 1997, the government of 
Bolivia has eradicated more than 130,000 acres of illegal coca.
  The annual cocaine production in Bolivia has fallen by 70 percent.
  In the past five years, nearly $3.0 billion in Bolivian cocaine was 
taken off the international market.
  Alternative development programs in the Chapare, Bolivia's primary 
coca growing region, have taken hold and are providing stable and 
meaningful income to former coca growers. Today there are more than 
290,000 acres of legal agricultural crops under cultivation in the 
Chapare.
  In these areas, family incomes are rising, proving that the 
transition to legal agricultural activity can be successful.
  In the law enforcement area, nearly 5,000 coca base labs were seized 
and destroyed and over 58 metric tons of drugs, including cocaine base, 
cocaine and others, were seized.
  I am pleased to report these results to Congress to show that with 
the proper combination of leadership and political will, the battle 
against illegal drugs can be won. I am hopeful and optimistic that the 
Honorable Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, the new President of Bolivia, will 
pick up and continue where former President Quiroga left off, ensuring 
Bolivia remains a shining example of success in the Western Hemisphere.
  Lastly, I wish to say thank you to President Quiroga, with whom many 
of us have worked so closely during the past five years. We have no 
doubt that his leadership, vision and commitment to Bolivia were 
essential to the remarkable success of the Dignity Plan program. He 
should take great pride in his extraordinary record of success in the 
drug war and know that he has many good friends in the U.S. Congress 
who are grateful.

                          ____________________