Bolivia in power crisis over ousted president

LAWMAKERS planned an emergency session to fill a power vacuum after the president's resignation, hoping to quell violent street protests by a poor Indian majority intent on wresting power from the wealthy white ruling class.

President Carlos Mesa, a US-backed free-market supporter, survived only 19 months in office before offering to step down on Monday, his government buckling in the face of weeks of protests by a coalition of Indians, miners and union members.

The resignation - expected to be put to a vote in Congress today - could ultimately usher in new elections, raising the prospect of Bolivia becoming the seventh Latin American country to move to a leftist government opposed to US policies in the region.