People power rules in S. America

These positive trends, however, have not translated into improved living conditions for the vast majority of people. Poverty has increased in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela in the past decade; foreign debts have ballooned with new loans and mismanagement; and gains from privatization were funneled into the hands of a few.

In Bolivia, the demonstrations - the largest since democracy was reinstated in the early 1980s - initially began in the highlands to protest the government's plan to export natural gas, but quickly morphed into a nationwide antigovernment movement.

"Gas is only just one issue. These protests were about a government that did not listen to or represent the people of Bolivia," says Hugo Salvatierra, a human rights lawyer working in the eastern city of Santa Cruz.

On Sunday, Carlos Mesa, vice president turned interim president, named his 15-member cabinet. The Army, Congress, and indigenous leaders have said they will support the new president, though one indigenous leader warned of new protests within 90 days if Mr. Mesa does not institute policies aimed at helping the country's native peasant population. Mesa has promised early elections and a referendum on the gas issue.

Unpopular economic moves in the midst of the crises were the final straw that led to the collapse of the different regimes. In Ecuador, Mr. Bucaram fell when he pushed through massive rate hikes for public services in early 1997 during a march that brought 2 million people to the capital. Three years later, Mr. Mahuad's government collapsed after he proposed substituting the local currency with the US dollar. And Mr. De la Rua's end in Argentina in 2001 was precipitated by a decision to limit bank withdrawals. Mr. Fujimori and his associates, some of whom are behind bars, are accused of pilfering more than $1 billion from Peru.

Conversely, Venezuela's Mr. Chávez has been able to hang on to the power, despite prolonged strikes that crippled the country's economy, by bucking the regional trend and following a populist approach that keeps him above 30 percent in the polls. And since the attempted coup last year, the Army has remained largely on the sidelines.

South Americans are both emboldened and disenchanted with democracy, analysts say. On one hand, the region's democracies have been unable to meet public expectations, with many leaders switching to austerity measures from the free-spending rhetoric of the campaign trail. On the flip side, mass demonstrations against government policies were unheard of during decades of strongman rule. Democracies, however flawed and fragile, allow people to express their discontent. But, some analysts warn, the pendulum may have swung too far in the other direction.

"In some ways these protests represent the voice of the people, who are mobilizing against unpopular measures," says Luis Nunes, Peru director for the US-based National Democratic Institute. "But they are a dangerous interpretation of democracy. In South America we cannot have revolving-door presidencies. This isn't what democracy means."

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