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Bolivian lawmakers refuse president's resignation offer

Bolivia's Congress voted unanimously to reject President Carlos Mesa's resignation and agreed to pass a law increasing Bolivia's oil and gas revenues that the opposition said does not go far enough to stem the ongoing unrest in the country.

Mesa had offered his resignation to Congress on Monday following two weeks of protests, strikes and attempts to cut Bolivia's gas and electricity supplies, hoping to alleviate the conflicts which he said rendered Bolivia "ungovernable."

It took less than five minutes for Bolivia's 157 lawmakers late Tuesday to turn down Mesa's request and to later sign with him an agreement calling for a law on oil revenues that Mesa promised would be "by Bolivia and for Bolivia."

In a speech before Congress early yesterday, Mesa said the new law would ensure more profits to Bolivia from gas and oil exports that are mostly in the hands of foreign companies.

"In conclusion, it will be a law that meets the country's hopes ... allowing it to benefit from these incomes in the short term," Mesa said to the applause of the lawmakers.

No handclapping, however, was heard among the opposition since the members of the Movement for Socialism (MAS), the country's largest political group, had walked out of the congressional session before Mesa took the podium.

In a fiery speech shortly after Congress voted to keep Mesa in office, MAS leader Evo Morales announced that the protest movement would continue because "we have no choice but to unite against Mesa's siding with the oligarchy and multinationals."

Mesa's chief political rival and leader of the powerful coca farmers union, said the protest movement would continue "because they are aimed at getting an oil law guaranteeing a 50 percent tax on oil revenues approved.

"The moment Congress passes this law, the protest movement will stop," Morales said.

La Paz remained calm on Tuesday in advance of the expected showdown in Congress as police reinforced patrols in the capital.

The city's main airport remained open, but major roads connecting the country to neighboring Chile, Argentina and Peru were blocked by stone barricades erected last week by anti-Mesa groups.

Leftist political groups, labor and farm unions mounted a campaign against Mesa for his bill to levy royalties of 18 percent on foreign companies producing natural gas and oil.

Morales wants a 50 percent royalty, which Mesa claims would drive away foreign investment.

Twenty-six foreign oil companies have contracts to exploit Bolivia's large natural gas and oil resources, including Total of France, Brazil's Petrobras, British Gas, Exxon Mobil of the US, Repsol of Spain and PlusPetrol of Argentina.

In his speech to lawmakers, Mesa said the reasons he had tended his resignation remained in place: "I am not prepared to give in to pressure, no matter how great, to make me do things that would definitely hurt Bolivia in the international arena."

An intellectual and moderate, Mesa has no political party but retains much popular support and is backed by the Bolivian military.
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