"After weeks of demonstrations, Bolivian Indians have forced out that country's president, believing that today's interim replacement and his successor will respond to their demands. History suggests that their hopes are likely to be dashed.

Less than two years ago, much the same thing happened to a different Bolivian president. His name, and the name of the man who stepped down last week, hardly even matter because the cycle of unrest will happen again and again in varying forms in Bolivia, and around South America, as it has for centuries until real change occurs.

This time, the world watched men and women blocking traffic, battling police, kneeling in news photographs wearing brightly colored ponchos, hand-woven shawls and bowler hats. But the issues they raise go far beyond the Andean nation. Today, Bolivia's Indians are in Latin America's vanguard."

Get the Story:
William Ratliff: The Real Problem Facing Latin America Isn't Instability -- It's Rigidity (The Los Angeles Times 6/14)
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