Bolivian president deserted by last key supporter; close ally says president will resign: "In defending the [gas-export] plan, the president calls the gas resources 'a gift from God' that would bring millions of dollars annually to a cash-strapped Andean country. But few here believe his claims that average Bolivians, many of whom earn only a few dollars a day, would benefit. Bolivia, which declared its independence from Spain in 1825, is a majority indigenous country where many speak Spanish haltingly. The country yielded its vast mineral wealth to its colonial rulers -- and many see the gas-export project as a return to that legacy."

Bolivian president deserted by last key supporter; close ally says president will resign: "In defending the [gas-export] plan, the president calls the gas resources 'a gift from God' that would bring millions of dollars annually to a cash-strapped Andean country. But few here believe his claims that average Bolivians, many of whom earn only a few dollars a day, would benefit. Bolivia, which declared its independence from Spain in 1825, is a majority indigenous country where many speak Spanish haltingly. The country yielded its vast mineral wealth to its colonial rulers -- and many see the gas-export project as a return to that legacy."