MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Unyielding Bolivia polarized between Mesa and Morales.

Bolivia was again on the verge of political uncertainty following President Carlos Mesa decision to send Congress a bill advancing national elections and anticipating he would veto a hydrocarbons bill approved by the Legislative branch.

The announcement which follows the recent Congressional rejection of President Mesa's resignation once again polarized the country in the controversy over the constitutionality of the Executive request to hold national elections next August.

However the situation had an unexpected turnabout when early morning Wednesday the Bolivian Congress Lower House approved a controversial hydrocarbons bill which Mr. Mesa anticipated he would veto but opened the way to lifting the road blockades in several provinces that were strangling the country's economy.

Hundreds of trucks, buses and other vehicles began moving after having been forcibly stopped for a week during the ongoing political crisis which has confronted the more radical positions which virtually want to nationalize the oil and gas industry, with those who favour having foreign corporations invest in the country's rich resources.

"On the request from coca planter companions who were in the blockades, we have declared a recess until the Senate approves the bill as it was sent from the Lower House, with no modifications", warned Deputy Evo Morales, leader of the opposition and promoter of the protests.

The new hydrocarbons bill must be considered by Senate in the coming days, and if modifications are introduced it will be returned to the Lower House and then to a full session of Congress.

The most controversial issue of the bill is the 18% royalty foreign companies already pay, to which an aggregate 32% tax has been added "with no deductibles or compensations".

The original bill from President Mesa admitted the 32% tax but contemplated "deductibles and compensations", and therefore his determination to veto it.

Advancing elections is also proving a contentious issue, since several members of Congress consider the bill non constitutional in spite of a previous experience in the eighties.

"Then, all political parties agreed but there was no Constitutional Tribunal", said Carlos Sandy, president of the Lower House Constitutional Committee.

"This is merely a new blackmail from Mesa with the objective of not having to sign the Hydrocarbons Bill", blasted Mr. Morales.