Goni gone, but not forgotten

摘要

Waving rainbow-coloured flags, 3,000 people set off on a 150km (94-mile) march this week to La Paz to demand the arrest and trial of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada—"Goni", as Bolivians universally-call the former president and millionaire mining magnate. The first anniversary of his flight to exile in the United States was expected to pass peacefully. The question is how long the peace will hold for his successor, Carlos Mesa. Goni fled on the 17th day of what has become known as "Red October"-partly in honour of the leftist ideologues who organised demonstrations against him and partly in memory of the 59 people killed after he ordered troops on to the streets. Since 1985, as he rose from being a senator to a minister and then (twice) president, Goni had been instrumental in introducing policies to correct a bankrupt state, outdated institutions and a moribund and increasingly corrupt set of national industries. All were overhauled or handed to the private sector. But while the reforms were good for investors and businesses, few ordinary Bolivians saw quick benefits. Over the past four years, earnings per head have shrunk, privatisation has become a dirty word and populist nationalism has come back into fashion.