BOLIVIAN VICK-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RESIGNS
The deepening political crisis in Bolivia took another sharp turn March 3 when Senator Federico Fortun Sanjines, who was nominated by the MNR [Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario] at a recent congress to run as vice-presidential candidate in the coming election along with Paz Estenssoro, suddenly resigned because of "differences of opinion" in the party,
The congress was the scene of violent conflict between various factions of the MNR. [See World Outlook March 6.] Fortun was the candidate of the most numerous group, the state and party apparatus, They, won the. day over the army forces who sponsored René Barrientos Ortuno, commander in chief of the Bolivian air force,
It took the MNR leadership four days to fill the sudden vacancy. On March 7 the National Political Committee of the MNR announced that it had selected Barrientos to replace Fortun, The general had previously been denounced by the Minister of Labor as "the candidate of the Pentagon,"
Juan Lechin, who was vice-president under Paz, but who was expel~ led from the MNR at its January congress, has been chosen by a new © leftist party backed by the miners to run for the presidency in opposition to Paz Estenssoro,