Bolivian protests swell after President offers to quit

LA PAZ, Bolivia - Tens of thousands of Bolivian peasants and miners marched through La Paz on Tuesday as some opposition leaders urged early elections to end the country's political crisis after President Carlos Mesa's offer to resign.

Police fired tear gas to disperse miners who lobbed dynamite sticks and rocks during a protest calling for nationalisation of Bolivia's huge natural gas reserves and constitutional reforms for more representation for the poor Indian majority.

Mesa volunteered late on Monday to quit -- his second such offer this year -- after three weeks of indigenous protests blockaded La Paz and triggered the worst turmoil in his 19-month presidency of South America's poorest nation.

Congress, which in March rejected an earlier resignation by Mesa, could vote on Wednesday whether to accept Mesa's latest offer to quit.

A blockade of the city by Indian protesters has caused gas stations to dry up and taxi drivers are asking passengers to share rides. Residents complain about shortages of bread and meat.

The mayor of the militant city of El Alto, overlooking La Paz, said blockades in that city had become so drastic that protesters had stopped families from burying their dead in the cemetery.

The president appeared briefly on the balcony of his office on Tuesday to wave to reporters as thunderous blasts from dynamite echoed through the capital.

Church leaders were trying to negotiate an end to the crisis while the head of congress, Hormando Vaca Diez, urged protesters to lift blockades so legislature could meet. The president will stay in office until congress makes a decision.

"The government is at a critical moment and the congress must take a decision on whether or not to accept the presidents resignation," Vaca Diez said.

Lawmakers suspended a session last month after huge protests paralyzed the capital. Congress could hold a session in the southern city of Sucre if protests continue in La Paz.

But Evo Morales, a main opposition and indigenous leader, has demanded the resignation of Vaca Diez and the leader of the lower chamber of congress to make way for early elections. He said nationalisation of energy resources remained a priority.

Under the constitution, the president of congress must replace Mesa if lawmakers accept his resignation. Still, analysts questioned whether Vaca Diez would be an acceptable replacement for Mesa as protests showed no signs of abating.

"The problems of the country continue ... and the protests are in the streets and the streets in one way or another will decide which way this goes," said political analyst Jorge Lazarte.

Mesa, a political independent with little support in congress, had struggled to stay in power since coming to office in 2003 as he faced growing Indian demands for more state control of Latin America's second-largest natural gas reserves and calls for autonomy from wealthy regional provinces.

A former television news anchor, he came to office promising to heal the social divisions in the Andean nation of more than eight million people. But he failed to cope with growing Indian discontent that helped topple his predecessor in a similar popular revolt over natural gas.

The Organisation of American States on Tuesday offered to help in dialogue if asked and urged Bolivians to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

"I am sure that Bolivia is today mature enough to find a peaceful and balanced solution," Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim told reporters.

Bolivia's latest turmoil came after congress approved a new energy law increasing taxes paid on foreign companies working in Bolivia's oil and gas fields. Indian leaders said the law failed to address their demands that the poor majority see more benefits.

- REUTERS