Carlos Mesa Bolivian President
Carlos Mesa was appointed president of Bolivia after Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada resigned yesterday following weeks of violent protest that claimed at least 80 lives.
President Mesa, a 50-year-old intellectual and former journalist, had been Mr Sanchez's vice-president.
He said he would not complete Sanchez de Lozada's term, which ends in 2007, but described himself as heading a 'transitional government' that would call for new elections after holding a referendum on gas exports and calling a constitutional conference.
Carlos Mesa was sworn in as vice president in August 2002 after agreeing to stand as Mr Sanchez de Lozada's running mate earlier in the year.
But he later distanced himself from the president, especially over the use of force in dealing with the four weeks of protests that led to the resignation.
The former president left the country late yesterday for the United States, traveling with his wife, five other family members and three former cabinet members: interior minister Yerko Kukoc, defense minister Carlos Sanchez Berzain and health minister Javier Torrez Goitia.
