Bolivia's new interim president, Eduardo Rodriguez, takes office on Friday with a vow to hold elections and work with indigenous movements clamoring for nationalization of energy reserves and regional provinces demanding autonomy. Rodriguez, the former Supreme Court chief, was sworn in late Thursday by lawmakers trying to defuse three weeks of indigenous protests that forced his predecessor, Carlos Mesa, to resign and stoked fears of violence in South Americas poorest nation, Reuters reported. La Paz is still struggling with fuel and food shortages after blockades by the poor Indian majority, who called for state control over natural gas reserves and a special assembly on constitutional reforms to give them more political power. "One of my capacities will be to call for an electoral process to transform the representation of the people," Rodriguez said in a midnight speech after he was sworn in during an emergency congressional session. "I believe Bolivians deserve better, our children deserve better days," he said. --More 1418 Local Time 1118 GMT
