Bolivia: On to Elections

At first glance, it looked like a classic Latin American power grab. A long line of cars pulled up to the La Paz military airport, and Army General Alfredo Ovando escorted Air Force General René Barrientos to the steps of a waiting C-54. Moments later, Barrientos was on his way to Switzerland. Only a few days before, Barrientos and Ovando had been co-Presidents of Bolivia's 14-month-old military junta. Now, there was only Ovando.

In Bolivia, where things are seldom what they seem, the little tableau was actually normal democratic process. The junta...

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