Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada Bustamante (born
July 1,
1930), familiarly known as "Goni", is a Bolivian politician. Former two-term president of
Bolivia by 1993 and 1997, 2002 and 2003. He is credited for using "
shock therapy", the economic theory championed by Harvard economist
Jeffrey Sachs. This extreme measure was used by Bolivia in 1985 to cut down on rampant
hyperinflation caused by excessive government spending. He is also credited for a series of reforms during his first term that included decentralizing the country, bilingual education, and significant changes to the constitution. Elected to a second term with only 22% of the vote, he was ousted by massive protests in October 2003, where around 60 people died (between protesters, soldiers and police).
He studied literature and philosophy in the
University of Chicago. Not long ago, he resigned to the presidency of the
Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (
Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, MNR).
Regarded as "a Bolivian statesman" by some supporters, Sanchez de Lozadas is an important political figure in Bolivia of the past decade. Rebecca Mark (ENRON), paid him a bribe to sell the Bolivian state petroleum company YPFB, without the approval of the Bolivian people.
During the
Bolivian Gas War (more than 50 people died) in his truncated second term, Sánchez de Lozada was criticized because
multinationals were allowed to continue receiving an 82% share of profits from Bolivia's natural gas reserves, leaving around 18% for social spending. This angered many Bolivians and propelled a populist uprising led by syndicalists
Jaime Solares and
Roberto De la Cruz,
cocalero Evo Morales, and indigenous leader
Felipe Quispe, fed by rumors that Bolivia would export gas to the USA and Mexico using Chilean ports, a country widely despised since the
War of the Pacific. The uprising that resulted in October 2003 had many different goals, converging eventually on calls for full nationalization of Bolivia's hydrocarbons industry.
The indigenous protests began July 2003 earlier over long-standing grievances with the Bolivian government. These protests involved highway road blockades and the stoppage of all city activity. The most pronounced example was Sorata which ended violently after Bolivian troops tried to free about a thousand tourists held hostage in the town of Sorata. The confrontation left six citizens dead.
The
syndicalist protests led by
Jaime Solares and
Roberto De la Cruz aimed primarily at revoking the government's
neoliberal policies in place since 1985. Protestor's demands included calls for full
nationalization of the nation's hydrocarbon industry and stronger social programs. Some protestors focused on a return to the
corporatist policies of the
post-revolutionary state.
The
cocalero protests were less prevalent in the conflict, limited principally to the usual demands for an end to
coca eradication efforts. Their leader,
Evo Morales, later joined in demands for oil and gas nationalization, but vacillated between full nationalization and legislation to impose much higher tax rates (50%).
Protests were mostly localized around
La Paz and the surrounding countryside. By mid-October, protests were spreading to
Cochabamba, an
Evo Morales stronghold. A group of
Evo Morales sympathizers tried marching into
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and were assaulted by local citizens, many of whom still supported the besieged president. This incident, among others, convinced Sánchez de Lozada that it was better for him to send the country into a
civil war, to maintain him in government. He decided to send the military into the streets, with orders to fire on the unarmed civilian population, if necessary, and there was another genocide with the bolivian people.
In order to bring to an end the chaos in
La Paz and
El Alto, in which as many as 200 people were killed, Sánchez de Lozada resigned on
17 October 2003 and left
Bolivia the same day with his gang of ministers to
United States; by the protection of the government of the United States, he currently resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The Bolivian government is pushing the U.S. government to serve Goni his papers to testify in court. Furthermore,
Evo Morales, the current Bolivian president elected with 53.7% of the votes, is looking for international support to bring the former leader to the Bolivian justice.
*
List of presidents of Bolivia*
History of Bolivia*
Politics of BoliviaOur Brand is Crisis, a behind-the-scenes
2006 documentary about Sánchez de Lozada's second presidential campaign and the advice he received from American political strategists including
Stan Greenberg and
James Carville.
