Rosendo Copa Mamani stands with one hand on his hip and the other clasped to his ear, holding a mobile phone. His colorful shawl and broad-brimmed hat mark him out among the other parliamentarians sat around him. The photo of the indigenous politician, published widely in the international press last week, graphically captures the crisis brought on as Bolivia’s desperately seeks to modernise its economy.

Manami‘s party, the left-wing Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), is led by the charismatic opposition leader, Evo Morales, who President Carlos Mesa blamed for “strangling the country” with widespread strikes in recent weeks.

The ostensible cause of Bolivia’s current political crisis comes in the shape of the government-backed Energy Bill. Vocal opposition to the Bill, which proposed an 18% royalty charge on foreign companies who want to exploit Bolivia’s gas fields, caused Mesa to offer his resignation earlier this month.

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