Paz Marks Independence Day, Declares "A New Bolivia Is Being Born"

In a 1-hour-22-minute address from the Casa de la Libertad in Sucre marking Bolivia's 201st independence anniversary, President Paz delivered his first nine-month progress report: the country-risk index falling from roughly 2,200 to 421 points under the floated exchange rate, a $940 million restitution to Bolivians, the expulsion of 17 alleged drug traffickers, and a proposed "national agreement for development." He described the prior administration as having left Bolivia "devastated and dying" and said a "moral transformation" was underway.