Watching Bolivia

things continue to deteriorate...

Two days after Mr. Mesa offered to leave office to defuse mounting protests, demonstrators vowed to topple the new government if it is led by the next in line to the presidency, the Senate president, Hormando Vaca Díez. Congress is preparing to accept Mr. Mesa's resignation on Thursday and anoint Mr. Vaca Díez as successor in a special session in Sucre, the judicial capital.

Leaders of Bolivia's powerful indigenous movement vehemently oppose Mr. Vaca Díez, a wealthy land owner and long-time politician who has the support of the influential business elites in Santa Cruz, his home province. The conservative business class there wants more autonomy, giving it control over the natural gas reserves that the Indians in the highlands want to nationalize.

Mr. Mesa, who remains president, warned the nation that Mr. Vaca Díez must stand down and permit early elections to prevent bloodshed.

"Let us avoid lost lives, let us avoid a violence that devours us all," Mr. Mesa, who has been in office less than 20 months, said in a televised address late Tuesday. "This is an exhortation for a country that is on the verge of civil war."

"The conservative business class there wants more autonomy, giving it control over the natural gas reserves that the Indians in the highlands want to nationalize."

just like everywhere else - follow the money...

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