Newley Purnell

Opposition leaders continue to press for for president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada’s resignation; the army continues to battle protesters.

Bolivia Blogger Miguel Centallas, who believes the president should not bow to the pressure, reports from La Paz:

This point must not be ignored: Much (though not all) of the Bolivian protests are not democratic social movements; they are authoritarian, sectarian opponents of the current government, and a danger to the democratic institutions themselves.

And Al Giordano says the Bolivian government has begun a shocking crackdown:

Meanwhile, Bolivian military and police forces, unable to stop or impede the rapid growth of the protests that have paralyzed the country, began, tonight, going house to house in a search for indigenous, union, and other opposition leaders.

And turning to the traditional news outlets:

AP: “Indigenous leaders on Thursday rejected Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada’s attempt to defuse a deadly revolt and promised to continue protesting until the ‘butcher’ quit…Jaime Solares, head of a major labor union, added: ‘Let him not just leave the government, but Bolivia as well. And may he take the ambassador from the United States with him.’”

Miami Herald: “Coca growers, labor and student groups, and miners armed with dynamite paralyzed several cities Wednesday amid more deadly clashes between protesters from Bolivia’s poor indigenous majority and a government dominated by the rich descendants of European migrants.”

Reuters says the president has decided to make further concessions to the oppostion: “In what could be a last ditch attempt to avoid the danger of a bloodbath, the president stood side by side late Wednesday with his coalition partners, saying ‘Bolivian democracy was never in such grave danger’ and ceding to some opposition calls to reform his free market economic policies.”

For a comprehensive, link-filled piece of analysis, go to Mother Jones’s “Bolivia’s Battles”:

The Bolivian president’s future looks dim. Protestors say they will not stop until he resigns. Although he currently has the backing of the military, officers have reportedly said they do not support Sanchez de Lozada “as a person”, only that they will “defend a legitmately constituted government.” Which doesn’t rule out that they’ll ask him to step down.

Today’s award for the most short-sighted editorial goes to the New York Post, which opines simplistically:

No one asks to be born in a poor country with a history of tyranny and instability. But there are times when Third World peoples are truly their own worst enemy. And right now in Bolivia - the poorest country in all of Latin America - there are people fighting to remain poor.

In other news, my brother Mechum isn’t stuck in Sucre anymore. He and his friends have made their way to Santa Cruz; in a worse case scenario, they can leave the country from there. Sucre doesn’t offer international flights.

And, finally, a report on media coverage of this media coverage: yesterday Glenn Reynolds linked to my news round-up via his excellent site, Instapundit.

Stay tuned for further developments…