Bolivia to Scrutinize Gold Mine Owned by Ex-President

[Judi Lynn]

Caracas,
Tuesday
August 31,2010

Bolivia to Scrutinize Gold Mine Owned by Ex-President


LA PAZ – The Bolivian government announced plans to verify output at a gold mine owned by former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada that officials suspect of understating its production to minimize tax liabilities.

“We’re going to go in to perform the oversight of every last gram of gold they take out of there. Oversight so they pay taxes, and if they don’t comply with environmental norms, we’ll take it back (expropriate the mine),” the director of a regional development agency, Juan Ramon Quintana, told state media.

The Don Mario mine, located not far from the Brazilian border in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, is one of the richest in Bolivia, Quintana said, complaining that employees at the facility have consistently refused to admit government inspectors.

Sanchez de Lozada, a U.S.-educated millionaire mining executive, governed Bolivia from 1993-1997 and became president again in 2002 by a vote of Congress, as that’s year election ended in a virtual three-way tie.

He was forced out of office in October 2003 after security forces killed more than 60 civilians during protests against the government’s plan to export natural gas to the United States and Mexico.

Sanchez de Lozada is now living in the United States and Bolivia’s current president, Evo Morales, has repeatedly asked Washington to extradite the former head of state on charges arising from the deaths of protesters in 2003.

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=364697&CategoryId=14919

[Peace Patriot]

1. This is how it SHOULD BE: government wielding a Big Stick against corporate thieves, liars and...

fascists.

It is a measure of the LACK of democracy here that our government never takes necessary action like this, in the interest of the poor majority, and, instead, SERVES the "robber barons" and facilitates their robbery.

[Judi Lynn]

2. It's appalling the US is protecting this maggot from justice in Bolivia regarding his massacre

of precious Bolivian people in the streets.

We have learned he has friends in high places here, people like James Carville and his ilk, Bob Schrumm, Carville's fellow campaign strategists who helped Lozada get elected so he COULD mow down those unarmed, innocent people.

I hope they find the way and means to finally get him back where he belongs, as the former head of government, to honor the same laws he swore to uphold. Every day he remains dug in here is spitting in the faces of the people of Bolivia.