Bolivia, ridden with energy crisis-driven political turmoil, is currently witnessing a period of calm. Protests by peasants, miners and labour organisations, which forced president Carlos Mesa to resign after the Congress passed a controversial energy bill, were halted on June 11, 2005. The bill imposed on foreign oil companies a 32 per cent production tax, in addition to the existing 18 per cent royalty. Mesa had opposed it initially, allegedly under pressure from oil companies (see Down To Earth,