Without ballot boxes or rifles Between 5:25 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., the presidency remained effectively vacant. Vice President Mesa was subsequently sworn in as the 63rd president of Bolivia, assuming office through constitutional succession. Mesa opened his inaugural address with a conciliatory tone, emphasizing that "Bolivia is not yet a country among equals". He outlined his intent to call for a binding referendum on gas exports, promised to review the privatization of hydrocarbons, and pledged to call for a constituent assembly to revise the
Constitution in hopes of addressing ethnic and regional divisions. These points became known as the "October Agenda" and composed the core of Mesa's government program during his presidency. His accession to office was largely well received by the country's social sectors, who heeded his request for demobilization and an end to the blockades. Mesa's investiture was met with far more skepticism among the traditional parties. His pledge to form a non-partisan cabinet devoid of participation from any political party adherents, which Mesa phrased as a "sacrifice" they would have to make, was a significant blow to their influence, described by one MNR deputy as "political suicide". Entering the Palacio Quemado, Mesa was met with an executive headquarters entirely devoid of personnel, save for the presence of his family and some friends who came to visit. There, he spoke with Bishop
Jesús Juárez, who suggested to him that to guarantee the country's pacification, he had to be in El Alto the next day. Mesa heeded the advice, traveling in his first full day as president to the former epicenter of the social conflicts to participate in a ceremony in tribute to the victims of the previous government's violent occupation of the city. Before a crowd of some 8,000 people, he declared that his government would grant compensation of Bs50,000 to the relatives of the deceased and, most importantly, announced an inquiry into those culpable for the previous week's repressions. With the slogan "neither forget, nor revenge: justice!", Mesa promised that he would ask Congress to begin a "responsible investigation" that would establish the responsibility of Sánchez de Lozada and members of his government for the numerous deaths caused during the October crisis. Almost a year later, on 14 October 2004, the National Congress, by a vote of 126 to thirteen, authorized a trial of responsibilities against Sánchez de Lozada and his entire cabinet under the purview of the Law of Responsibilities (Law N° 2445), precisely promulgated by the ex-president. Mesa applauded its passage as a "historic decision" that "strengthens democracy and renews civic faith in its institutions".
Domestic policy Economy the
funeral of Pope John Paul II, 8 April 2005. Among the most pressing challenges facing the early Mesa government was the ongoing
economic recession—at the start of 2003, the fiscal deficit lay at 8.7 percent of
GDP. On 1 February 2004, Mesa laid out his economic program aimed at reducing government waste through
fiscal austerity and the imposition of
new taxes on the nation's highest earners. Within the public service sector, he implemented a ten percent reduction in his own salary as president and a five percent cut in the wages of all high officials, as well as eliminated the "bonuses" of up to US$4,000 granted to ministers, vice ministers, and legislators through which their wages had nearly doubled. On that point, Mesa introduced measures that prohibited government officials from having wages higher than the president's. In the private sector, he imposed a
tax on bank transactions and 1.5 percent of the
net worth of those making more than US$50,000. At the conclusion of Mesa's first full year in office, the fiscal deficit had been reduced to 5.5 percent and was at 2.4 percent by the end of 2005.
Judiciary Since 1999, the
Supreme Court of Justice had been operating at a reduced capacity. Congress had left several vacancies due to its inability to nominate judges who could gain the support of two-thirds of the legislators, causing delays in the judicial system because the Court could not reach the majorities necessary to adopt rulings. In light of the
parliamentary recess, on 31 July 2004, through Supreme Decree N° 27650, Mesa swore in six new acting Supreme Court magistrates, two judicial counselors, and nine district prosecutors. Mesa justified that in this way, he had "guarantee[d] the independence of the judicial power, starkly controlled by the parties...". The recess appointments were challenged by Congress, which filed a motion with the
Constitutional Court on the grounds that Mesa had violated the
separation of powers. On 11 November, the Court ruled against Mesa and annulled the appointments.
Constitutional reform The primary barrier to Mesa's October Agenda, particularly regarding the promise of a referendum and a constituent assembly, was that the Political Constitution of the State did not prescribe any mechanisms to carry out either venture. For this reason, the first step toward the president's program was to
amend said Constitution. To do this, Law N° 2410
On The Necessity of Reform to the Constitution—promulgated in 2002 by then-president
Jorge Quiroga—was unarchived in order to provide a legal framework for the new alterations. On 20 February 2004, Congress sanctioned, and Mesa promulgated Law N° 2631, amending the Constitution to allow for a constituent assembly and the ability to call for either a
citizen legislative initiative or a referendum. In addition to the main points, the opportunity was also taken to abolish
parliamentary immunity and allow for
dual citizenship.
Hydrocarbons and gas 2004 gas referendum A few months after the formalization of the new legal structure, on 13 April 2004, Mesa issued the call for a referendum on gas, opting to do so through supreme decree given a National Congress whose majority opposed his agenda. The latter decision was the basis for the traditional parties' objection to the plebiscite; the MIR, ADN, and sectors of the MNR, among other criticisms, voiced their opinion that the convocation of the referendum through any form other than a law passed by the legislature was illegal. Legislators of
Solidarity Civic Unity (UCS) filed two lawsuits with the Constitutional Court alleging the unconstitutionality of the referendum. Days before the vote, the Court ruled in favor of Mesa and the
National Electoral Court. Simultaneously, the five questions, drafted by both Mesa and MAS representatives, caused a divide in the labor and social movements because they did not directly address the nationalization of gas reserves, an action supported by over eighty percent of the country. The country's largest workers' unions—the
Bolivian Workers' Center (COB), the Regional Workers' Center of El Alto (COR-El Alto), the
Unified Syndical Confederation of Rural Workers (CSUTCB), and the Gas Coordinator, among others—all voiced their discontent with this crucial omission and called for a boycott of the vote, promoting roadblocks and demonstrations to block access to polling sites. On the other hand, the
Bartolina Sisa Confederation, as well as peasant unions in
Potosí,
Oruro, and Cochabamba backed the vote in support of Morales. For his part, Morales encouraged a "yes" vote on the first three questions and a "no" on the last two, which concerned issues surrounding exports. Mesa's campaign denounced the boycott and ramped up security at polling centers to defend against threats of violence, while the Electoral Court imposed a fine of Bs150 (US$19) for those who did not vote. The outcome of the 18 July vote yielded largely positive results for the Mesa administration. Labor protests failed to significantly reduce turnout, which came in at 60.06 percent, a figure that, while the lowest of any election since the transition to democracy in 1982, was still substantial. The Electoral Court argued that, as a referendum, participation levels were not comparable to previously held general or municipal elections. Most importantly, all five questions passed by broad margins. Questions one through three regarding the repeal of Sánchez de Lozada's hydrocarbons law, State recovery of hydrocarbon ownership at the wellhead, and the reestablishment of
YPFB all passed with over eighty percent of the vote—question two achieved over ninety percent. Meanwhile, coinciding with the position of the MAS, questions four and five on exports saw the least support, though they still received over fifty percent and sixty percent of the vote, respectively. Mesa hailed the results as a significant victory and a vote of confidence in his administration, later calling it "the brightest moment of our government".
2005 Hydrocarbons Law Immediately following the referendum, Mesa began negotiating with Congress, whose participation was necessary to formulate and eventually sanction a law on hydrocarbons. His first step was to introduce the
Law of Execution and Compliance of the Referendum—dubbed the "short law"—to establish a clear interpretation of the vote's results and commit to comply with them. Mesa was adamant that the short law must be "physically separate" from any eventual hydrocarbons legislation. Regardless, the measure was roundly rejected by the legislature, which insisted on a singular hydrocarbons bill. As a result, Mesa announced on 20 August that he would not enact any legislation authorized by Congress until an agreement was reached, a pledge he was forced to retract two days later amid criticism that he was jeopardizing the convocation of municipal elections. After a few weeks of negotiations, the president relented and agreed to present a solitary "large law" to Congress for consideration. Ultimately, without a party base of his own, Mesa was incapable of overcoming Congress's ability to block his policy initiatives. In late October, peasant and mining sectors led by Morales and the COB conducted mass demonstrations in La Paz, blockading the streets in and around Congress. On 20 October, faced with immense external pressure from over 15,000 peasant protesters arriving from
Caracollo, Congress discarded the president's bill and agreed to move forward with the one proposed by the Mixed Commission for Economic Development, headed by Santos Ramírez of the MAS. With victory at hand, Morales agreed to demobilize his followers. After the demise of Mesa's project, negotiations moved forward over the more radical proposal. The primary point of contention between parliamentarians of different parties surrounded question two of the referendum and what exactly "recover[y of] ownership over all hydrocarbons" meant. While more radical sectors called for complete
nationalization of the industry, the MAS took a more moderate stance, demanding that oil companies be subject to a
royalty of fifty percent of their profits. The compromise of the traditional parties was to approve a draft on 3 March 2005 that kept the preexisting eighteen percent royalty in place but added a thirty-two percent profits tax that, cumulatively, would reach fifty percent. In response, MAS sectors mobilized their bases in
Cochabamba and
Chuquisaca, initiating blockades and roadblocks, actions that shattered the tacit alliance Morales had shared with Mesa up to that point. In a forty-five-minute speech broadcast on radio and television, Mesa put to use his oratory skills, denouncing both left-wing labor sectors as well as conservative autonomists and business elites and directly calling out Evo Morales by name. In addition, he reiterated his statement that "I am not willing to kill" and promised that "there will be no deaths on my back" before announcing to the nation his intent to resign from the presidency on the grounds that it was impossible to govern under the threat of blockades. The gamble succeeded in inverting middle-class sentiment in his favor and against his opponents. Soon after the speech, a mass demonstration reaching approximately 5,000 people assembled outside the
Plaza Murillo to support of the continuity of Mesa's mandate. Similar gatherings took place in other cities. With popular support and political momentum at his back, Mesa immediately set about exerting pressure on Congress. Within hours, at a plenary session of legislators convened to formulate a response to Mesa's resignation, Minister of the Presidency José Galindo laid out the president's terms for remaining in office. After three days of negotiations, Congress unanimously voted to reject Mesa's resignation on 8 March. In exchange, the legislature committed to a four-point agenda: expedite the drafting of the hydrocarbons bill; begin the process of approving an autonomy referendum, the democratic election of prefects, and the convocation of a constituent assembly; construct a national "social pact"; and initiate efforts to end the ongoing blockades. The agreement was formalized between Mesa and six of the eight congressional parties: the traditional right-wing parties, embattled and under pressure, accepted, while the MAS and the
Pachakuti Indigenous Movement (MIP; a related left-wing party) refused to sign, and from that point were marginalized entirely, solidifying the split between Mesa and Morales for the rest of his administration. File:Unasul CASA 2 (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=Evo Morales|Mesa's complex relationship with Evo Morales has been one of both cooperation and open hostility. On 15 March, the Chamber of Deputies approved the Hydrocarbons Law, maintaining the eighteen percent royalty and thirty-two percent tax. Despite not meeting the opposition's demands, Morales relented and called off the ongoing strikes. Mesa, however, maintained that the country did not have the economic capacity to carry out the law and argued that the new tax should be implemented gradually, starting at twelve percent and increasing to thirty-two percent within a decade. Nonetheless, on 6 May, Congress moved forward and passed the controversial bill. Despite having drafted it themselves, the failure to agree on the fifty percent royalty led the MAS to near-unanimously vote against it. Faced with two unappealing choices of either promulgating the law or vetoing it, Mesa took a third option: neither. As stipulated by Article 78 of the Constitution: "Laws not vetoed or not promulgated by the president of the republic within ten days from their receipt, will be promulgated by the president of the congress". On 16 May, President of the Senate Hormando Vaca Díez signed the bill into law and criticized Mesa for "[bringing] the country to a point of crisis and uncertainty".
Autonomies One of the major challenges to the Mesa government was the increasing calls for decentralization from business and civic sectors in the Santa Cruz Department. For years, the national government had systemically blocked the issue of departmental autonomy and the democratic election of prefects. The Banzer and Quiroga administrations sidestepped it entirely, while Sánchez de Lozada was actively hostile to the prospect, viewing it as the basis for the collapse of the unitary state. Mesa took a different stance on the issue, announcing on 20 April 2004 his support for regional autonomy. He outlined his government's intent to address the matter through the convocation of a constituent assembly that would amend the relevant articles in the Constitution in order to provide for the decentralization of the country and the election of prefects and departmental councilors by popular vote. In tandem, he issued two decrees that month: one served to strengthen departmental councils while the other determined the administrative decentralization of regional health and education services. The response from Santa Cruz civic leaders, however, was unsupportive of Mesa's proposal. On 22 June, under the leadership of
Rubén Costas—head of the Pro Santa Cruz Committee—a civic council was convened that approved an eleven-point document known as the "June Agenda" against blockades, centralism, and violence. It demanded a national referendum on autonomies and began collecting signatures for a departmental plebiscite to be held prior to the convocation of the constituent assembly. This context precipitated an antagonistic relationship between the Mesa administration and Santa Cruz civic leaders and business elites for the duration of his mandate. Although Mesa's policy proposals remained in favor of a move toward autonomy, his approval rating in the department fell from sixty-one percent in June to thirty-six percent by the end of 2004. The culmination of this animosity came on 30 December when the government announced the termination of its fuel subsidy in order to reduce the rate of smuggling. The result was a twenty-three percent increase in the price of
diesel and a ten percent
gasoline hike. The unpopular measure—dubbed the "
dieselazo"—generated nationwide protests from both left-wing indigenous and labor groups and right-wing business sectors. Most seriously, autonomist groups in Santa Cruz, joined later by civic groups in
Tarija, quickly coopted the demonstrations in those departments, adding the call for autonomy to their list of demands even after the government agreed to reduce the diesel increase to fifteen percent. On 21 January, the
Armed Forces signaled to the president their willingness to intervene in the event that Santa Cruz moved to declare itself autonomous in violation of the Constitution. Faced with the possibility of an armed confrontation similar to that of October 2003, Mesa, on 26 January, resolved with his cabinet to allow the Cruceños to move forward with self-rule unimpeded. The following day, with news that the
Santa Cruz Youth Union had decided to seize all public institutions in
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Mesa gave the order to withdraw all civil and police personnel from public buildings, including the prefecture, in order to avoid armed conflict. On 28 January, Santa Cruz was proclaimed an autonomous department at a
cabildo held at the foot of the Christ the Redeemer Monument. The declaration came with the formation of a provisional assembly that would negotiate with the government for a departmental autonomy referendum in order to legitimize the new authority, which at the moment contravened the Constitution. That same day, Mesa issued Supreme Decree N° 27988, which called for the election of prefects in all nine departments. Since the Constitution granted the power to designate prefects solely to the president, the decree worked around that by constraining the head of state only to appoint those who obtained a majority of the popular vote. The decree was formalized by a complementary law passed by Congress on 8 April. On 11 February, Mesa delegated to Congress the task of setting a date for the autonomies referendum.
Foreign policy Argentina On 15 April 2004, Mesa authorized an agreement with Argentine President
Néstor Kirchner allowing for the sale of four million cubic meters daily of Bolivian gas for a six-month period with the possibility of renewal depending on the outcome of the July referendum. The arrangement was supported by civic groups in Tarija—home to eighty-five percent of the country's natural gas—but was met with suspicion by certain labor sectors who viewed it as a possible roundabout way for Bolivian gas to be exported to Chile through Argentina. In view of this, the Mesa administration conditioned the sale on the promise that not "one molecule" of Bolivian gas could be exported to Chile. Doing so would constitute a contract violation on the part of Argentina. Mesa met with Kirchner twice more during his presidency, this time in Bolivia, once for a short discussion in July and another in October 2004. In the latter, the two presidents signed an agreement that increased Bolivian gas export volumes from 6.5 million to 26.5 million cubic meters per day to help mitigate the
Argentine energy crisis.
Chile and the Maritime Demand As with near-universally all previous governments, the relationship between Bolivia and Chile during the Mesa administration centered fundamentally on Bolivia's claim of sovereign access to the
Pacific Ocean, a dispute which, by 2004, had reached its centennial without compromise. Just under a month into Mesa's presidency, the first discussions surrounding the maritime issue took place. On 14 November 2003, during the ongoing
Ibero-American Summit, Mesa met privately with Chilean President
Ricardo Lagos at the Los Tajibos Hotel in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The dialogue between the two heads of state concluded with an agreement in principle on a sovereign corridor connecting Bolivia to the Pacific through a strip of land along the Chile–Peru border. As per the
Treaty of Ancón, any cession of land formerly belonging to Peru necessitates Peruvian approval and, therefore, Lagos stipulated that "if there is a Peruvian yes, there will be a Chilean yes". Mesa raised the maritime claim again at the
Monterrey Special Summit of the Americas in January 2004. There, he emphasized the good relationship between the two countries but expressed his view that such relations required the resolution of issues that "for a reason of justice" must be resolved. Mesa's statements opened a rift between himself and Lagos, who expressed his "regret [for] what happened in Monterrey because these are spaces to advance on collective and multilateral issues". Nonetheless, Mesa was received with praise by the National Congress, which declared "its strongest and most determined support" for the president. Later that month, at a seven-hour session of parliament, Congress declared the maritime claim to be an "inalienable right of the Bolivian people" and issued its approval for Mesa's strategy of multilateralizing the demand in order to gain support from as many nations as possible. At the 34th
General Assembly of the Organization of American States held in
Quito, Ecuador, the Bolivian delegation distributed its
Libro Azul, which recounted the government's interpretation of events surrounding the
War of the Pacific and justifies the country's historical claim. The 35th OAS General Assembly was held in
Fort Lauderdale from 5 to 7 June 2005; Mesa issued his definitive resignation on 6 June. It was the last time the outgoing government addressed the maritime claim, bringing an end to Mesa's strategy against Chile.
Peru At a meeting in
Lima held on 4 November 2003, Mesa and Peruvian President
Alejandro Toledo agreed on the framework for a
common market between the two states in order to support greater cultural, commercial, and economic integration as advocated by the
Andean Community. Days after voters approved gas exportation as part of national policy in the gas referendum, the Bolivian government scheduled talks with their counterparts in Peru to discuss the topic. On 4 August 2004, Mesa and Toledo signed a letter of intent promising to analyze the joint exportation of natural gas. The deal granted Bolivia a
special economic zone centered on the southern port of
Ilo, from where it could export its gas to lucrative markets in Mexico and the United States. The agreement allowed Bolivia access to the Pacific for the first time in over a century. Days later, the two presidents, along with Brazilian President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, inaugurated two bridges connecting Bolivia and Peru to Brazil. Through this, Toledo expressed his hope that a tripartite market between the three countries could pave the way for broader continental integration.
Definitive resignation Despite enjoying an approval rating of over sixty percent, Mesa's inability to find a compromise with the National Congress, especially after his break in relations with the MAS, led him to call for an early end to his term. On 15 March 2005, less than a week after Congress rejected his resignation, Mesa announced his intent to introduce a bill that would advance the call for general elections to 28 August, cutting short his term by two years. Two days later, Congress rejected his proposal under the justification that it "lack[ed] a legal basis". After returning the unenacted hydrocarbons bill to Congress, Mesa attempted to salvage his domestic policy agenda by calling a "National Meeting for Unity" to be held in
Sucre on 16 May. The conference would have sought to find consensus on the hydrocarbons law and establish concrete dates for the convocation of an autonomies referendum and elections for a constituent assembly and prefects. Ninety-seven sectors were invited, including the three branches of government, ex-presidents, heads of political parties, mayors of the nine departmental capitols and El Alto, the association of municipalities, the presidents of the nine departmental civic committees, four representatives of indigenous organizations, two from trade unions, and two from large businesses. While the
Catholic Church, the Human Rights Assembly, and some civic groups agreed to participate, most political parties rejected the meeting, including both the MNR and MAS. Mesa was ultimately forced to suspend the event after Congress declined to attend. By this point, the country faced increasingly debilitating strikes and demonstrations from opposing groups seeking conflicting goals. The MAS demanded the urgent convocation of a constituent assembly to rewrite the Constitution. They were supported by trade unions, which additionally called for the immediate nationalization of gas. In the eastern departments, protests were held calling for a referendum on autonomies. The unrest was exacerbated by the indecision of Congress, which remained deadlocked over whether to convene the constituent assembly and later hold the autonomies referendum or hold both constituent elections and the referendum simultaneously. Finally, on 2 June, Mesa opted to circumvent the legislature and, by supreme decree, scheduled the referendum and elections for the constituent assembly for 16 October. Mesa's actions failed to quell the unrest and were rejected by both left-wing and right-wing sectors of the country. Faced with the tense political situation and unwilling to allow military action against protesters, Mesa tendered his resignation on 6 June. With that, the responsibility fell to Congress to accept it and swear in a new individual to the presidency. The candidate next in line to succeed Mesa was Hormando Vaca Díez, the president of the Senate, followed by
Mario Cossío of the Chamber of Deputies. Viewing that the country would not accept such a succession by members of the traditional political parties, Mesa called on Vaca Díez and Cossío to renounce their succession rights to avoid an "explosion" in the country. This request was not considered by Vaca Díez, who announced his intention to convene a session of Congress in Sucre—La Paz was almost entirely blockaded—to accept Mesa's resignation and install himself as president. After three days of resistance, Vaca Díez conceded to popular pressure and, along with Cossío, the two legislative heads renounced their right to succession. At 11:45 p.m. on 9 June 2005,
Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, was sworn in as the 64th president of Bolivia at an extraordinary session of Congress held in Sucre. The following day, Mesa received Rodríguez Veltzé in La Paz. For Mesa, "that moment had an immense symbolic load. I had entered through the front door and was leaving through the front door, with my forehead high and looking the country in the eye". == Post-presidency (2005–2018) ==