Bolivia honours President Evo Morales by opening $7m museum in his native village

Bolivia has honoured its president of 11 years Eva Morales by opening a museum worth $7m (£5.6m) in his native village of Orinoca, in the Altiplano. Named the Museum of the Democratic and Cultural Revolution, the facility was inaugurated by the president himself.

Morales is reported to have gone emotional during the inauguration function, which featured Andean music and dancing. He recalled his childhood in his native village, which had a mere 700 inhabitants and where 90% of the population lived in poverty.

"This date will mark history. This museum is the patrimony of all who struggled for the liberation of our people," Morales said.

Wilma Alanoca, the culture minister of the country, referred to the new facility as the "largest and most modern museum in Bolivia".

However, Bolivia's political opposition termed it the "Evo museum" and questioned its cost and maintenance in a rural area of modest homes and poverty.

The museum, which details the struggles of the Bolivian people throughout history, has three divisions with interactive rooms and digital exhibits. It also has school notebooks and T-shirts from famous footballers on display.

However, reports claimed that the most attractive section of the facility is the wing exhibiting personal objects of Morales — the longest serving leftist president of Bolivia, who is the first to come from an indigenous group.

The section dedicated to Morales in the museum also has portraits, stone busts, honorary doctorates, and his photos with world leaders. Football trophies and the trumpet, which the president used to play in his youth, are also displayed with interactive screens featuring his world tours and speeches at international forums.

Opposition MP Gonzalo Barrientos called the museum "a waste".

However, Alvaro García Linera, the vice president of Bolivia, said those who criticised the museum were "racists" and "agents of the empire" – a reference occasionally used for the US.