Economy & Business - July 2004

President Carlos Mesa, in his final broadcast to the nation before the referendum on what to do with the country's gas reserves on 18 July, advised people to vote either 'yes' or 'no' to all five questions. He said in his TV broadcast on 11 July that voting 'yes' to some questions and 'no' to others would complicate the government's response to the referendum result. In the event Bolivia's voters backed all five of the government's proposals regarding reforms to the oil and gas sectors. As this issue went to press the Corte Nacional Electoral (CNE) had only just begun the count, but President Carlos Mesa has already claimed victory, hailing it as 'a triumph for the people'