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Our Work in Bolivia
Later, during his first term as president, Goni oversaw a program of "capitalization," which allowed private investors to purchase minority shares of previously state-owned industries, with the proceeds going to fund Bolivia's first public pension program (like Social Security), called "the Bonosol." Capitalization was controversial, but resulted in the modernization of many Bolivian industries, including the oil and gas sector. Investment spurred by capitalization led to the discovery of vast reserves of Bolivian natural gas that had previously gone undetected. Sanchez de Lozada also oversaw an expansion of a maternal and infant health program, sweeping education reforms, and a new program of "popular participation" that distributed government funds to regional and local governments. Attracted by his progressive record, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner helped Sanchez de Lozada prepare for his country's 2002 elections. Greenberg Quinlan Rosner provided opinion research (surveys and focus groups), media production (television and radio ads), and strategic advice about such campaign elements as debates, scheduling, targeting, and issue research. Principals involved in the effort included Stanley Greenberg, Jeremy Rosner and Mark Feierstein of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (which conducted the public opinion research); James Carville; Bob Shrum and Tad Devine of Shrum Devine Donilon (which produced the advertising for the campaign); and Israeli political consultant Tal Silberstein. After trailing his principal opponent by as much as 12 points, Goni received the most votes in the June 30, 2002, election, winning 22 percent of the vote in a field of 11 candidates. He took office on August 6, heading a broad three-party coalition. During his second presidency, Sanchez de Lozada fulfilled his campaign promises to restore the Bonosol (which had been curtailed by the previous government) and to initiate a major expansion of the maternal and infant health program, including universal coverage of all children under 5 years of age. In order to bring the country together and find consensus solution, he initiated a national dialogue; but opposition leader Evo Morales refused to participate. Sanchez de Lozada also pushed forward efforts to find international markets for Bolivia’s gas so that the country could sell its newfound reserves and raise funds for education and health. To export the gas, he proposed constructing a natural gas pipeline to the Pacific Ocean. There was strong public opposition to the proposal because the most feasible and profitable route was through Chile, a country with which Bolivia has strained relations dating from a 19th century conflict in which Bolivia lost its access to the sea. But Goni was convinced that exporting gas was critical for the country’s development and pursued the project in spite of the political risks. Protests organized by opposition leaders in October 2003 resulted in scores of deaths and Sanchez de Lozada’s resignation. Sanchez de Lozada has repeatedly called for a full, independent investigation into the cause of the deaths. Those requests were rebuffed by the Carlos Mesa administration. |
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