Bolivia: Protests Escalate

Tens of thousands of peasants and miners marched through La Paz Tuesday, a day after Bolivian President Carlos Mesa tendered his resignation for the second time in four months. Some of the protestors set off dynamite and police responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets. For weeks demonstrators demanding a nationalization of the natural gas industry have blocked the country’s main highways and restricted access to cities, causing food and fuel shortages. Mesa promised to remain in Bolivia until Congress accepts his resignation.