Breathing room

It's Saturday morning and Bolivia has entered its second day under new leadership, a hopeful truce and cautious optimism for change. Eduardo Rodríguez, the caretaker president who emerged unexpectedly from the fray in Sucre Thursday night, has promised to quickly tackle the nation's concerns: nationalisation of the gas industry and a constitutional assembly to redress the injustices suffered by the indigenous citizens for decades, if not centuries.

Central to the process which brought him the presidency, Rodríguez' has affirmed his constitutional mandate to hold general elections within 150 days. A lawyer and current chief justice of Bolivia's supreme court, he is well-versed in constitutional doctrine, statutes and procedure, and he has already predicated his proposed game plan regarding hydrocarbons upon such a background:

"We should be able to address the issue of hydrocarbons...The constitution says the hydrocarbons belong to the state. That has not changed; what has changed is the way they are managed."

Likewise, those in support of a constitutional convention should be pleased with his (expected) expert participation.

Though a member of the MNR, Rodríguez maintains a non-partisan position owing in part, at least, to his continued office of chief justice, a neutrality which has brought him rare popular trust in a country well-educated in the abuse of power. It will be interesting to see if Rodríguez opts to step into the ring against the leading pretender to the presidency, Evo Morales. While not barred from such a decision, he would first have to claim a party affiliation with MNR or, perhaps, inaugurate a new party.

Another bit of news should further encourage Bolivians: the G7 (G8 minus Russia) has today agreed to wipe out Bolivia's debts to the World Bank and IMF. Bolivia is one of eighteen countries which will benefit from this extraordinary debt relief package brokered by the UK's chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, a long-time promoter of reducing debt in developing countries. Bolivia's share of the initiative is more than $2 billion (Jubilee Research). The deal will be signed at the Gleneagles G8 summit in three weeks.

Many unknowns (known and unknown...) remain as this chapter of Bolivian history writes itself. But at this altitude, the extra breathing room, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated.