Quito, September 30 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Democracy needs a major overhaul and socialist movements of Latin America will deliver it, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Meeting for Latin American Progressives conference in Quito, Ecuador, the Bolivian leader criticized the way democracies operate in the world today.  The vice president listed two main areas of concern: a lack of citizen participation in decision making processes and the monopolization of power by elites.

In his two hour talk, the Bolivian vice president assessed the last 15 years of governance in Latin America, praising the socialist revolutions in places like Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Argentina, which have all taken major steps in eradicating poverty, increasing access to education and health-care, and improving infrastructure in the region. 

According to Garcia Linera, the struggle for socialism is not over. The vice president demanded that people seek empowerment, participate more in communities, government and the decision making processes that affect their society and lives.

People must fight for sovereignty and the right to participate in making decisions that affect their surroundings and not be controlled by other foreign powers, particularly global neo-liberal interests, said the vice president.

He went on to ask the audience to remember countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia before socialism came to fruition, when people were controlled by external interests – when private companies controlled their water and other resources, international companies exploited their environment, and foreign investment controlled government decisions.

“The socialist governments of Latin America want profound participation, especially in the streets,” he said, adding, “Socialism is the radical transformation of democracy.”