BOLIVIA

Since the last report the country was convulsed by protests that led to the resignation of President Carlos D. Mesa, and the constitutional succession to the presidency by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, following the resignations of the head of the Senate, Hormando Vaca Díez, and speaker of the House, Mario Cossío. Mass demonstrations and widespread confusion led to a grave crisis involving all branches of government. A social confrontation was looming due to the prolonged siege by peasants of the government offices in La Paz and Santa Cruz, the economic hub located in central Bolivia, reaching a climactic turning point between May and the June resignations. The eleventh-hour assumption of the presidency by Rodríguez Veltzé in the city of Sucre swiftly restored calm on the eve of the December 4 elections. Journalists and the media could freely report on events notwithstanding the seriousness of the conflict and there were no reported complaints by press associations. In August, the Miami-based EFE wire service reported the IAPA statement deploring the July 2001 killing of Bolivian journalist, Juan Carlos Encinas. Four years later, the circumstances surrounding Encinas's death remain unclear, and a fog of uncertainty surrounds the case due to transfers of court personnel originally involved in the case. An incident which could be interpreted as indirect government censorship involves the resignation, allegedly under pressure, of Juan Francisco Flores, manager of the state-run Televisión Boliviana, channel 7, for program changes introducing fifteen new programs, most of which are produced in the city of Santa Cruz. Flores served for only eight weeks during which he attempted to change the image of TVB channel 7, which from its onset has been aligned with the interests of the particular administration in office.