Word: paz
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...Bolivia was like a two-horse cart headed for a precipice before my November revolution," says Air Force General René Barrientos. One of the horses was President Victor Paz Estenssoro, "and we got rid of him in November. Now we are rid of the other...
That other horse was Juan Lechin, 52, Paz's onetime Vice President and a longtime leftist union leader. In a surprise raid, Barrientos' police had picked him up in his home and packed him off to exile in Paraguay aboard an air force C-47. Lechin's crime, according to Barrientos, was masterminding a "Communist conspiracy" to overthrow the Bolivian government. "Bolivia was at the crossroads," cried Barrientos in a radio speech. "The choice was Communism or democracy...
...face of mounting pressure on all sides, Barrientos suddenly announced that he was withdrawing from the elections in the interests of "national harmony and unity." Almost on cue, a series of noisy protest demonstrations erupted among pro-Barrientos peasants in Cochabamba and Sucre, south of La Paz. The peasants set up roadblocks along the highways, invaded and occupied Cochabamba Airport, the air communications hub of Bolivia. At that, Barrientos himself flew down to Cochabamba, and announced that he was putting off the elections...
Diplomats in La Paz tended to believe that the demonstrations were largely directed and engineered by Barrientos. Nevertheless, he does have wide popular appeal among the peasants, who see him as a young and vigorous reformer. He campaigns tirelessly, promises land, food, health and education to all within earshot. How much support he has in the La Paz capital is questionable. His incessant speechifying raises the hackles of some of his fellow generals who fear that he has ambitions to become a Bolivian dictator. Last week army brass were privately demanding that Barrientos share the junta leadership with General Alfredo...
Barrientos was widely hailed for overthrowing Paz Estenssoro's increasingly heavy-handed regime last November. How well he can run the country is another matter. The nationalized mines are losing $6,000,000 annually; workers are threatening to strike for higher wages. Even so, he remains Bolivia's most popular figure. Many of his Cabinet meetings are held at 5 a.m. to give him time to fly off to the backlands for a confetti-splashed fiesta and political rally with the campesinos...