Reuters has now published a report on the pending prosecution of Goni that is described above. It appears, so far, only on The Economist: Both Reuters and the magazine are British, leaving U.S. major media way behind the curve in reporting this story in English. It's titled Goni Gone, but not Forgotten. I used BugMeNot.com to "borrow" a password to enter The Economist website and read it.)

Some excerpts from the Reuters report, which ends with a quote from Narco News School of Authentic Journalism professor Alvaro Garcia...

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 Sánchez 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...

So far, so good. But then the Reuters reporter apparenty can't tell the difference between "rojo" and "negro," labeling "Black October" as somehow colored "red"...

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....

Mr Mesa, Goni's one-time vice-president, therefore walks a tightrope. An independent without a party, he has been unable to assemble a governing coalition in Congress. He has chosen instead to juggle political forces, sidelining unpopular political parties that supported Goni and the privatisations, but courting civic groups.

That has boosted his popularity, but it makes governing tricky, since Congress effectively contains neither a government block nor an opposition. The political parties, struggling to revive their fortunes, says Gonzalo Chávez of the La Paz Catholic University, “are fragmented and have no detectable policies”. Most are focused on trying to recover their popularity ahead of municipal elections in December...

Ironically, Mr Mesa's biggest challenge may be Goni himself. Last month the ex-president made his first appearance on Bolivian television since his escape. He called for “truth and reconciliation”, but also spoke of the need to “get to the bottom of the parts played by all the different actors”, a jab at protest leaders for inciting rioters. He also denied rumours that he stole money from the country's central bank.

The speech played badly in Bolivia, however. The growing calls for Goni to be put on trial could become a rallying cry for further unrest. A congressional commission has ruled that he should face charges. The protesters who helped oust him formed a political movement, M-17, which is seeking recognition as a political party. “The protest groups are too busy worrying about their candidates' chances in December's local elections to do anything now,” says Álvaro García Linera, a former guerrilla turned political analyst and co-author of a new book on Bolivia's social movements. “They will be back, though, in 2005.”

Of course, had Congress not voted to indict Goni, the unrest would have already been underway this morning.

Memo to any persons out there that might be occupying the White House in Washington after January 20th: Your Ambassador, David Greenlee, is a big part of the problem. Throw the bum out!