Incoming Bolivian President Eduardo Rodriguez named his Cabinet at a ceremony in which he also renewed a pledge for early elections to satisfy demonstrators who recently crippled the country with a series of violent protests.
Hours earlier, some 7,000 Indians, labor activists and peasant farmers marched peacefully in renewed pressure for early elections and the nationalization of the oil industry.
In the brief ceremony late on Tuesday at the Government Palace, Rodriguez made clear that his would be a brief caretaker presidency, swearing in a dozen ministers to what was characterized as a national unity Cabinet.
He also named a new army commander-in-chief, General Marcelo Antezana, and a foreign minister with a long diplomatic trajectory, Armando Loayza.
"Perhaps this team of men and woman may not satisfy everyone ... but each has manifested his commitment to public service and to the cause of democracy," said Rodriguez, who was named by Congress last Thursday to replace departing president Carlos Mesa when his government fell to opposition protests.
Rodriguez reiterated his intention to call elections within five months, vowing his aim was the "preservation of the democratic system and the conclusion of a free and transparent electoral process."
As the protesters marched, Congress reconvened for the first time since widespread protests forced the presidential upheaval last week.
The protest came as House and Senate lawmakers regrouped in separate chambers on procedural matters as they got back to work. In coming days, they are to begin examining opposition demands that forced the ouster of Mesa, a US-backed, free-market ally who lasted in the office for 19 months.
While Rodriguez is committed to early elections, demonstrators said they wanted not just the president and vice president to be up for grabs as required by law, but also legislative and other posts.
"We want the government to call general elections and we want those elections to include the Senate, House deputies and other posts," protester Ubaldo Aquino said. "We will not surrender. We will continue this protest until the government engages us in a real dialogue."
Opposition leaders announced a truce last weekend to nearly a month of highway blockades that isolated major cities and triggered gas and food shortages in La Paz.
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