The Guarani communities living in the area experienced at first-hand the abuses of the big landowners, supporters of servitude and practices similar to slavery.

Thousands of indigenous people gathered Saturday to listen to Evo Morales´s speech in the ceremony where he granted improductive lands which where expropriated.

“We will continue working with you to end with large estates”, the President promised according to the Agencia Bolivariana de Información.

This is protected by the new Bolivian Constitution, passed in January, which provides measures to end with large estates, establishing that the greatest agrarian extension of land can be of five thousand hectares.

In Alto Parapetí, Morales delivered 20 ownership titles to indigenous people. This way he opened a process of land allocation which will end December 2009. The native communities received 38 thousand hectares which were recently expropriated by the government through the National Institute of Agrarian Reform and that were improductive.

“Having land is having freedom, and if there is land and freedom, there is justice”, stated Morales during the ceremony, filled with critical references to the big landowners of the region.

By mid 2006, Bolivian authorities visited captive native communities of Alto Parapetí, and found a devastating scene. Approximately 3000 families denounced slavery practices and deprivation of basic rights.

The media at the time reported that the big landowners of the region traded Guarani “servants” for aproximatly 1800 Bolivian pesos, about 250 dollars.