Posted on 10/18/2003 1:34:02 AM PDT by GeronL
New Bolivian President Carlos Mesa: a Best-Selling Author and Journalist
By Alvaro Zuazo Associated Press Writer
Published: Oct 18, 2003
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (AP) - As one of Bolivia's top journalists, Carlos Mesa wrote a best-selling book about the many presidents in this country's often tumultuous history.
Now his story will have to inside any new printing of "Entre urnas y fusiles" (Between the Ballot Box and the Rifle). Mesa was sworn in as president late Friday after the resignation of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.
Mesa, a political independent who had some leftist leanings in his youth, has served the past 14 months as vice president of Bolivia. Mesa's star rose quickly under Sanchez de Lozada and the newcomer to politics even addressed the U.N. General Assembly last month.
At that annual U.N. meeting in New York, Mesa warned that democracy was in danger in Bolivia "as the result of legitimate pressures from the poor" - a reference to the majority poor in this country of 8.8 million.
"We cannot generate economic growth and well-being for a few and then expect that the large majorities that are excluded will watch silently and patiently," he added, urging rich nations to give greater assistance to the developing world.
He said that rich nations to drop projectionist barriers to international trade and recognize the need to help fight poverty around the world.
"We poor countries demand that our products be admitted into the markets of rich countries in adequate conditions," he added.
Before entering politics, Mesa built a sound reputation as a Bolivian historian and a highly credible journalist in radio, television and newspapers. He is a member of the Bolivian History Academy.
Mesa, 50, developed a friendship with Sanchez de Losada, a wealthy mining businessman, in the 1980s. The relationship proved to be a key factor in Sanchez de Lozada's tight election victory in July 2002.
Mesa acknowledged, however, that he felt more at ease in journalism than in politics - more comfortable as the interviewer than as the one being interviewed.
A bearded intellectual, Mesa is the product of a Jesuit school Catholic upbringing and hails from a family of noted academics. Both of his parents were historians. He and his wife, Elvira Salinas, have two children.
Mesa entered journalism first as movie critic - a role that may have helped him strike up his early relationship with Sanchez de Lozada, who also once dabbled in independent film production.
But differences between Sanchez de Lozada, as president, and his vice president, soon erupted in public.
When La Paz was rocked by bloody protests in February against a government tax hike project, Mesa was instrumental in the exit from the cabinet of a defense minister who was considered responsible for the repression that left 21 dead.
Reports of arguments between the two were common. And when the latest crisis became practically out of control, the differences between them became insurmountable.
Mesa, without quitting his post, publicly announced he was withdrawing his support to the president, unhappy with the repression of the protests, that left dozens dead. As he said during the latest crisis: "I cannot continue to support the situation we are living through."
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