Bolivia President Resigns After Revolt, Source Says

[chasqui]

Bolivia President Resigns After Revolt, Source Says

By Alistair Scrutton

LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivia's President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada resigned in a letter to Congress on Friday, a senior government source said, following a month-long popular revolt in which more than 70 people were killed.

"The letter of resignation has been sent to Congress," the source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

The decision, which was not immediately officially confirmed by the government, came after tens of thousands of people had marched and blockaded the capital for weeks to reject Sanchez de Lozada's pro-U.S., free-market economic policies.

<snip>

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031017/fin_enr/bolivia_4

on edit -- added URL

[Flying_Pig]

1. Sounds like the Bolivians know how to get rid of a stinker...

Perhaps we could take lessons, in case Bush cancels the 04' elections?

[phoebe]

2. v. interesting - will a puppet be installed or a democratically elected

leader, elected by the people? If so, can you say coup?

[bemildred]

3. What is being said is the V. P. will take over.

[Say_What]

5. 'Opposition' leaders reject that idea OVER Bolivian law

according to this article at Znet:

<clips>

...If The President Resigns, Vice President to Take Power

According to the Bolivian constitution, if the president resigns the vice president will become the president.

Vice President Carlos Mesa, who on October 13 stopped supporting President Sánchez de Lozada and demanded his resignation, said, "We cannot refuse to listen to the voice of the people. We need to create a constitutional succession en order to end the confrontations and violence that the Bolivian people are living in now." (El Diario, 10/14/03) However, opposition leaders, including Felipe Quispe and Evo Morales, reject the idea of Mesa becoming the next president.

Morales stated, "I prefer that country determines constitutional succession through consensus with the social movements that are currently fighting (in the country). Nevertheless, it would be an error in these moments to decide who should be the next president." (La Razón, 10/14/03)

Many demand new presidential elections, but congress has not passed a law that would allow a recall vote, as they have been caught in a gridlock for months, arguing senselessly over political appointments and, in the recent week, have not even held session at all.

http://zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=52&ItemID=4365

[jmcgowanjm]

4. HOLD IT

What you saw today was the mask ripped off for all to see.

Did ANY ProGov Media station report this on the
Evening News?

http://www.bigleftoutside.com/

Authentic Journalist Andrea Arenas has photos of Goni's helicopter fleeing from La Paz. Look for them tonight, on Narco News' final nocturnal mission. Sources say he will land in Santa Cruz to pick up his family, and then flee the country...

[jmcgowanjm]

6. Forget ME BUsh needs to worry about LA

And I ain't talkin' about The City of Angels.

Look for USMilitary action shortly
somewhere in SouthAmerica.

[Say_What]

7. Check this: Claim: Goni Flees in Helicopter to U.S. Airship

From your link

<clips>

This, from Cuba's Prensa Latina.

Although Cuban intelligence is pretty good, take it with a grain of salt.

I'm remembering the eleven false reports of April 11, 2002, by the Dow Jones wire service, claiming that Venezuelan President Chávez had fled the country in an airplane.

CNN Español (can you tell that we have it permanently on in the newsroom today?) has repeated this same report.

BigLeftOutside will seek further confirmation before stating it's so. But it is curious that the 4 p.m. session of Congress where the Bolivian prez was supposed to resign is more than two hours late, now.
6:26, La Paz Time... Conflicting Report: Heh, my journo instincts are still good. Mural.com is reporting that Goni left the Presidential residence "minutes ago... by the back door" and was seen heading toward's the Southern Zone of the City (the wealthy suburban section) with another car following close behind.

Evo Morales, meanwhile, has called on the people to surround the airports to make sure that Goni the Butcher can't escape justice for his crimes of this week.

[jmcgowanjm]

8. Hey Say_What, I'm movin' around you

We are Winning today.

Venezuela
Ecuador
Brazil
Argentina
Bolivia
1/2 of Colombia
Cuba

USSouthern Command
must be very busy tonite
Along w/ Roosevelt Roads

[Dirk39]

9. Although I'm not sure about Brazil,...

it's one of my biggest remaining hopes that more and more latin-american countries will set an end to the neoliberal pest and stop to sell out their countries. If only one european country would loudly oppose neoliberalism, deregualation and privatization.
Today, the german parliament has passed the biggest offense against the welfare-state and social security since the end of WWII. And it was done by a social-democrat/green government! They are just cowards, not to admit, that national governments can't decide anything anymore in the world we live in. It would be honest, if simply all parties would surrender, we would close all of our parliaments and simply give the power directly to the banks, the multinational corporations and the big shareholders.
Hello from Germany,
Dirk

[jmcgowanjm]

10. Hola Dirk39, Aleman knows Futbol

As do the Latinos, Hispanics,
Indians.

Brazil has experienced the pain
Of 1965 and Operation
Condor
That said I share some of your
concerns

I remain Optimistic

[Dirk39]

11. Fussball is the only job, left to do, even for women...

here in Germany:-)
According to our news, all germans are taken out of Bolivia pretty soon.
But do the people in Bolivia have anyone like Chavez at hands?
What will happen now?
My doubts about Brazil are that they had a far left wing government before that just sold the country out to the worldbank and the IMF. I'm not into conspiracy-theories. It just occurs to me that if you don't make a real cut today, you're lost, there is no other possibility.

Whenever I see people fighting like this and risking their lives, I asked myself, if I would be willing to do this...
cowardly in Germany,
Dirk

[arcos]

12. half of Colombia?

what do you mean?

[chasqui]

14. I think he means

That there is a movement in South America, as the Narconews puts it "Bolivar's dream of a unified latin america" Something to that effect.

[Jack Rabbit]

13. BBC link

From the BBC Online
Dated Saturday October 18 02:27 GMT (Friday 7:27 pm PDT)

Bolivian president quits amid turmoil

Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada has resigned after weeks of violent anti-government protests.
In a letter read out by the secretary of the Congress in La Paz, the president said he hoped his resignation would help to solve Bolivia's problems . . . .
The Information Ministry said the president was now in the city of Santa Cruz with his family.
Congress named Vice-President Carlos Mesa, a political independent and respected historian, as president after accepting Mr Sanchez de Lozada's resignation amid applause.

Read more.

And to those who support global capitalism, read it and weep.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Really odd article says the Bolivian ex-president's in Miami

(home of deposed right-wing dictators, heads-of Latin American countries, and their "enforcers.")

(snip)

BOLIVIA 18/10/2003 12:46
US ‘REGRET’ OVER RESIGNATION OF SÁNCHEZ DE LOZADA
Politics/Economy, Standard


Through the deputy spokesperson of the State Department, Adam Ereli, the United States expressed “regret over the circumstances, including the death of many people, which brought to the resignation of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada”. Washington, which in Miami, Florida, received the former head of state in flight from Bolivia, applauded “the president for his attachment to democracy and wellbeing of his nation”. “We comprehend – concluded Ereli – that Vice-president Carlos Mesa assumes the presidency in conformity with the Bolivian Constitution”. Throughout the week the US had expressed total support for Sánchez de Lozada, according to the US legitimated to govern the nation because “democratically elected”. Washington had even suggested the possibility of an intervention in Bolivia, in the case that the popular protests pushed the former head of state from office, in what would be considered a popular coup. The European Union, the OAS (Organisation of American States) and MERCOSUR (Common Market of the South Cone) had aligned, with different motivations, to the US position. In the past days the US had sent a small contingent of military ‘experts’ (according to some sources 6) to observe the situation in the Andean nation and defend the US Embassy, which never closed differently from other diplomatic representations. (snip/...)

http://www.misna.org/news.asp?lng=1&id=99319

[bemildred]

17. They are still trying to figure out what to do.

Haven't agreed on all the details of the spin. I'll
bet someone is spending a lot of time looking into Mr.
Mesa at this very moment.

[0007]

16. Che Guevara is smiling right now!

Perhaps he knew when dying how this was gonna play out.

I love ya Che and will never forget.

[Say_What]

19. Photo says it all

[Jack Rabbit]

18. Update (BBC): New Bolivia leader urges unity

From the BBC Online
Dated Saturday October 17

New Bolivia leader urges unity

Bolivia's new president has called for national unity, hours after his predecessor was forced out by weeks of violent anti-government protests.
The new leader, Carlos Mesa - the former vice president - quickly offered to hold early elections and promised to do more for the indigenous Indian population . . . .
The new president promised to address the grievances of Bolivia's indigenous Indian majority, who had complained bitterly about Mr Sanchez de Lozada's free-market policies.
"Bolivia is still not a country of equals. We must understand our peoples, our (indigenous) Quechuas and Aymaras," he told congress.

That's encouraging talk. Will he follow up with any meaningful action.

[Say_What]

20. Carlos Mesa leads troubled Bolivia as former president quits

Guess where the ex-pres went?? Miami, to live happily ever after.

<clips>

LA PAZ (AFP) - On his first day as President of Bolivia, former vice president Carlos Mesa was forming a new cabinet, after Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada resigned following political violence that left over 80 dead.

But the swearing in of the cabinet, initially planned for Saturday night, was put off until 10:00 am (1400 GMT) Sunday, Mesa spokesman Oswaldo Candia said.

The names of the new cabinet members were not divulged, but Canida said earlier they had been drawn from outside traditional political circles.

In his first public pronouncement as president, Mesa committed himself to bringing to justice those responsible for the more than 80 deaths that occurred in violent protests that forced the change in government.

He would do so, he said, "without vengeance, but with clarity and with justice."

<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20031019/wl_afp/bolivia_protests_031019004404>

---

Leader of Bolivian coca growers, Evo Morales, smiles after watching the televised session of Congress in which legislators voted to accept the resignation of embattled President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada following a week of bloody riots, in Cochabamba October 17, 2003. Vice-president Carlos Mesa Gisbert, a repected journalist and trusted by many Indian groups, took over Bolivia's presidency. Picture taken October 17. REUTERS/Danilo Balderrama

[lostnfound]

21. Can you imagine the airplay if this tea party had couped a leftist?

Our so-proud-of-the-American-revolution patriots here in America wouldn't know a Boston tea party if it hit them in the face.

Ponder, for a moment, the amazing TV time devoted to the orchestrated fall of a STATUE in Baghdad..versus this remarkable Bolivian revolt, obfuscated through descriptions of 'riots and unrests' to the extent that it was covered at all.