Setting the Table

President Carlos Mesa started a weekly >informational program called "El Presidente Pone en Mesa", which will air every Sunday. The purpose of the program is to maintain the open communication that his predecessor failed to do. The only time Sanchez de Lozada appeared on television was to reverse his unpopular policy decisions, which were preceded by social unrest.

Mesa maintained firm that the referendum scheduled for July 18, will respect the "one citizen, one vote" structure and struck down any proposal by the elite business classes in Santa Cruz and Tarija to conduct the vote by departments.

The question(s) will be released on May 18. After that, an intensive information campaign waged by both sides will begin. Mesa also discounted any plan to include the nationalization of all the hydrocarbon industry, which would require a hefty indemnization.