Word: lechin
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...dingy tin miners' union hall at Siglo, Veinte, 135 miles from the Bolivian capital of La Paz. Until the end, there was no certainty that the men - pawns in a power struggle between Bolivia's moderate President Victor Paz Estenssoro and its leftist Vice President Juan Lechin - would get out alive. Even after Lechin backed down, many of the rebellious miners whom he leads seemed in a mood to set off a civil war in the bleak Andean nation. They demanded that Lechin appear personally before them to explain why the hostages should be released while...
Grudging Hands. A fine drizzle fell over the 14,000-ft.-high plateau as Lechin arrived at Siglo Veinte. With him were the Archbishop of La Paz, U.S. Consul Charles Thomas, TIME Correspondent Gavin Scott, and six other newsmen. A mine siren sounded, and 3,500 grimy miners gathered in front of the union hall. Many of them were in an ugly mood. "Down with the stooges of Yankee imperialism," they chanted. "To the wall! To the wall!" A note of urgent pleading in his voice, Lechin told them that President Paz Estenssoro had promised a fair trial...
...Lechin used the kind of argument he thought would be effective in such a tense situation. The Bolivian government and the Yankees in Washington didn't care if the hostages died; in fact it would provide an excuse to attack Siglo Veinte. Three thousand government troops were nine miles away; there would be much bloodshed. Naturally, said Lechin, he put little faith in the government's promises. "I have my doubts about this agreement. But the fact is that the life of this community is at stake." At last, with a grudging show of hands the miners voted...
From their jail cell in La Paz, the two union men made a taped radio broadcast to the miners, pleading for the release of the hostages to prevent a " bloody massacre." The miners refused, believing that their leaders were coerced into making the plea. Lechin himself returned to La Paz, and in a desperate attempt to make a deal, offered to resign as Vice President and return the hostages if Paz Estenssoro would free the two union leaders and three other leftists in jail. "It was a mistake in the first place to take the hostages," he admitted...
Finally, as troops advanced toward the mines, Lechin seemed to be impressed by the government's determination. In a radio appeal to miners, a weary, red-eyed Lechin urged them to honor Paz's conditions for settlement-assurances of a fair trial for the two jailed union leaders if the hostages are freed. Lechin then said he was leaving for Siglo Veinte to make a personal appeal, and President Paz Estenssoro announced terms had been agreed on and that the prisoners would soon be released. Even so, said a U.S. Embassy official, "We won't be happy...