Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada y Sánchez Bustamante (July 1, 1930), familiarly known as "Goni", is a former two-term president of Bolivia. He is credited for "shock therapy" (with Jeffrey Sachs) — the extreme measures taken by Bolivia to cut down on rampant hyperinflation caused by excessive government spending.
He studied literature and philosophy in the United States, and is sometimes criticized in Bolivia as "El Gringo" — referring to his poor Spanish, highly American upbringing, and pro-US policies. He is a member of the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, MNR). He obtained 22.46% of the vote in the June 30, 2002 elections.
Gas War & resignation
An uprising of syndical cocalero and radical indegenous groups —among them Evo Morales, (a Socialist-populist leader and the main opponent to Lozada) and Felipe Quispe, leader of the peasant union and former prisoner after being involved in terrorism and guerillas in the 80's —brought about a civil uprising known as the Bolivian Gas War to stop Lozada from exporting Bolivia's raw natural gas reserves to Chile. In order to bring an end to the uprising and bring back order to the chaotic cities of La Paz and El Alto, which appeared to have no end in sight and in which some fifty people had died, Lozada was forced to resign on 17 October2003. He left Bolivia that day headed for U.S.
External links
Extended biography by CIDOB Foundation (http://www.cidob.org/bios/castellano/lideres/s-016.htm) (in Spanish)
Gonzalo Sánchez deLozada Bustamante (born July 1, 1930), familiarly known as "Goni", is a Bolivian politician.
This extreme measure was used by Bolivia in 1985 (when Sánchez deLozada was planning minister) to cut down on rampant hyperinflation caused by excessive government spending.
This angered many Bolivians and propelled a populist uprising led by syndicalists Jaime Solares and Roberto De la Cruz, cocalero Evo Morales, and indigenous leader Felipe Quispe, fed by rumors that Bolivia would export gas to the USA and Mexico using Chilean ports, a country widely despised since the War of the Pacific.
Gonzalo Sánchez deLozada, one of Bolivia's most powerful businesspeople, whose fortune is based on mining, became president on Aug. 6, 2002, after winning the elections that year thanks to a political alliance with former president Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993).
On 17 October2003Gonzalo Sánchez deLozada resigned from the Bolivian presidency after allies in his coalition government abandoned him[2] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2777567.stm) and as many as 70 people died that week in police crackdowns on continued massive protests.
On 23 October 2003, the European Parliament voted to reject asylum for deLozada and other officials, and asked that they be held responsible for the repression and deaths in the conflict.
Feeds |
Contact