BOLIVIA: After a fortnight of social unrest that saw 90 people killed by army and police gunfire and the hasty departure of President Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada, Bolivia settled into an uneasy peace yesterday as an interim government struggled to establish its authority.
President Carlos Mesa (50), the former vice-president, was inaugurated on Friday after Mr Sanchez de Lozada resigned. The new president has pledged early elections, a referendum on the construction of a controversial gas pipeline and a constitutional conference to determine the political direction of the nation.
"We have to respond to one of the biggest challenges in our history" said Mr Mesa. "If all of you do not help me, there is no way we can crawl out of this."
Bolivia is the poorest nation in South America. One-third of the population suffers from starvation and most people subsist on less than $1 a day.
Mr Mesa was a journalist who joined the Sanchez de Losada election ticket last year. Mr Mesa's recent introduction to party politics may be his saving grace as he pledged a "cabinet without politicians" to placate the widespread hostility toward traditional political parties.
Mr Mesa has offered to hold elections next year even though the law permits him to serve out the rest of the ex-president's term, until 2007.
"The president didn't resign; he was run out of office," said Mr Evo Morales, a left-wing activist who was narrowly defeated by Mr Sanchez de Losada in last year's presidential ballot.
Mr Mesa will have only a brief window of opportunity to honour his pledges as students, farmers and miners keep a close eye on events.
The latest riots erupted over Mr Sanchez de Lozada's plan to export natural gas to California. The country has seen similar unrest as citizens protested against a privatisation campaign that has stripped the nation of vital assets.
The "water war" in 1999 pitted the people of Cochabamba town against corporate plans to privatise the water supply and hike up service fees. A week of violent unrest led to a government U-turn on the issue.
Mr Mesa is the fourth Latin American president to be driven from office in recent years.
He follows Ecuador's Jamil Mahuad, Peru's Alberto Fujimori and Argentina's Fernando De la Rua. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez survived unrest provoked by his implementation of the precise social reforms now being sought in Bolivia.