Does anyone know how this population map coorelates with the 'resources' of the country? I've been to the Peruvian side of Lake Titicacca (hence my interest) but never quite made it to Bolivia. 
Posted on 06/06/2005 8:20:54 PM PDT by nickcarraway
President Mesa has been under heavy pressure to resign Bolivian President Carlos Mesa has announced his resignation after mass protests demanding the nationalisation of energy and constitutional reform. In a televised address late on Monday, Mr Mesa said he was stepping down because "this is as far as I can go".
The Bolivian city of La Paz has seen daily demonstrations for several weeks by indigenous and left-wing groups.
Mr Mesa became president in October 2003 after similar protests over energy forced out his predecessor.
The protests erupted last month after a law was passed imposing taxes on the foreign companies that have invested in Bolivia's gas reserves, which are the second-largest in South America.
The protesters said the law did not go far enough and called for the gas industry to be nationalised.
They also demanded constitutional reforms to give greater rights to the country's impoverished highlanders, most of whom are of indigenous descent.
Televised resignation
The demonstrators opposed demands from Bolivia's resource-rich eastern provinces for greater autonomy and more foreign investment.
Mr Mesa tried to calm the protests last week by signing a decree approving a special assembly that could change the constitution.
But the protesters vowed to continue their action until the constituent assembly is guaranteed by Congress and the country's natural gas resources are nationalised.
On Sunday President Mesa met Church leaders and politicians to discuss the possibility of a snap election.
As clashes erupted between police and the protesters in La Paz on Monday, Mr Mesa left the presidential palace in the city under an armed escort.
He later appeared on national television to announce his resignation.
Bolivia is about to be Venezuela South. It has been astonishing to watch the Chavez ideology spread like wildfire throughout S. America (and soon perhaps to Nicaragua and Mexico). I have never seen a region of the world turn on globalization as rapidly and completely and impatiently as South America (with Chile the exception that proves the rule) in the last four or five years.
Another domino falls.
More communism on the march in Latin America, undoing all the good work of the 80's. Who cares? The neocons would scare us about hapless Syria and Iran, rather than the dominoes falling in our backyard.
Does anyone know how this population map coorelates with the 'resources' of the country? I've been to the Peruvian side of Lake Titicacca (hence my interest) but never quite made it to Bolivia.
"with Chile the exception that proves the rule"
Perhaps because Chile is the only country in South America that actually adopted a free market economy.
"More communism on the march in Latin America, undoing all the good work of the 80's"
Economically, South America never fully liberalized. Contrary to popular perception, Venezuela was just as "unfree" economically before Chavez took over (check out the Heritage foundations index of economic freedom). The one country that did truly become a free market economy (Chile), is doing fine.
"The neocons would scare us about hapless Syria and Iran"
First of all, I'm a little tired of the label "neocon". I've never heard a coherent definition of the term and it seems to just apply to any conservative that happens to be Jewish.
Secondly, if you don't think Syria and Iran are threats then you're in dreamland and probably would like DU better than FR.
Sorry. Chile's new leader is an old lefty too. The whole continent is going up in flames.
Lagos is not a communist, you're just hysterical.
My bad. I was thinking of Insulza / OAS. But the hard left is deeply entenched in the governemnt in Santiago. It's far from the free market paradise we want to think it is.
starting with the anti-CAFTA rednecks in this country
they might as well be french
Santa Cruz may well secede.
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