Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
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| Image:Lozardo.jpg Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada | |
| First term | August 6, 1993 to August 6, 1997 |
| Preceded by | Jaime Paz Zamora |
| Succeeded by | Hugo Banzer Suárez |
| Second term | August 6, 2002 to October 17, 2003 |
| Preceded by | Jorge Quiroga Ramírez |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Mesa Gisbert |
| Date of birth | July 1 1930 |
| Place of birth | La Paz |
| First Lady | Ximena Iturralde de Sánchez de Lozada |
| Party | MNR |
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada Bustamante (born July 1, 1930), familiarly known as "Goni", is a former two-term president of Bolivia. He is credited for "shock therapy" (with Jeffrey Sachs) — the extreme measures taken 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. He is credited as well with the deaths of over a hundred bolivians. Elected to a second term with only 22% of the vote, he was ousted by massive protests in October 2003.
He studied literature and philosophy in the University of Chicago. He is a member of the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, MNR).
Regarded as "a Bolivian statesman" by some supporters but loathed by a vast majority of the population, Sanchez de Lozadas is an important political figure in Bolivia of the past decade.
Gas War and resignation
Sánchez de Lozada was viewed by many as being too pro-U.S., to the detriment of Bolivian citizens. He was elected to a second, nonconsecutive term of office in a hard-fought campaign, winning with just 22% of the vote in a crowded field of candidates.
During the Bolivian Gas War during his truncated second term, Sánchez de Lozada was criticized because multinationals continued receiving share of profits from Bolivia's natural gas reserves. 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 directly to Chile, 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 which ended violently after Bolivian troops tried to free about a thousand tourists held hostage in the town of Sorata. The confrontation left six campesinos dead, and propelled charges of government repression.
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. Such demands included calls for full nationalization of the nation's hydrocarbon industry. Their general demands were for 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 erradication efforts. Their leader, Evo Morales, later joined in demands for oil and gas nationalization, but vacilated 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 the country was dangerously close to civil war, and also that his post as President was in danger. He decided to send the military to the streets, with orders to fire on the unarmed civilian population, if necessary.
In order to bring to an end the chaos in La Paz and El Alto, in which as many as 58 people were killed by the military, and with no other choice at hand, Sánchez de Lozada resigned on 17 October 2003, leaving Bolivia the same day with his family for exile in the United States; he currently resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Goni has been charged in his native Bolivia with genocide, among other crimes. Currently the Bolivian government is pushing the U.S. government to serve Goni his papers to testify in court.
See also
- List of presidents of Bolivia
- History of Bolivia
- Politics of Bolivia
- Our 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.
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