After last month's bloody triumph, Bolivia's new revolutionary regime split over the question of how fast to nationalize the all-important tin mining industry. Juan Lechin, tough boss of the republic's 40,000 tin miners and the new Minister of Mines, demanded swift action, and talked as though the job could be done in a month or so. But President Victor Paz Estenssoro insisted that nationalization must be carried out slowly and cautiously.
At a showdown cabinet meeting last week, Lechin backed down. Afterwards, addressing 15,000 partisans with Paz Estenssoro, he made a mild speech...
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