The new President of Bolivia cut his salary in half and ordered that no Cabinet minister should collect a higher wage than his, with the savings being used to hire more school teachers.
In one of the first decrees of his five-day-old rule, Evo Morales, the leftist former activist, said his salary would be 15,000 bolivianos (£1,000) a month. “I ask for (the ministers’) understanding and efforts to try meet this demand, not for Evo, but for the people,” Señor Morales said after a Cabinet meeting. The money saved will be used to create a fund for hir ing the extra school staff. “We need 6,000 new teachers and there is only money for 2,200,” he said.
The President had promised to cut his salary and that of his party members during the election campaign. His predecessor earned 34,900 bolivianos a month.
Señor Morales was inaugurated as Bolivia’s first Indian president on Sunday. (AP)