Bolivia’s President-elect Evo Morales has said during a visit to the Netherlands that nationalising his country’s energy reserves was key to wiping out poverty, but that changes should happen gradually to avoid upheaval.

Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales, fresh from meetings with Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, arrived in Spain today on the first visit of a three-country European tour with the nationalisation of Bolivia’s oil and natural gas high on the agenda.