Carlos Mesa

"Our maximum responsibility is to act with intellectual honesty in what we believe and to work in a dialectical process in which the end result is something we build, not something we just destroy."

"A few days ago, my country lived through serious episodes of violence, which have forced us to reflect. We are aware of the fact that the last 21 years of democracy — the longest uninterrupted period in our history — are at stake as we face the legitimate pressure exercised by the marginalized sectors of our society, who deserve our attention. [...] Loss of trust in these essential elements of democracy is one of the greatest dangers to the future of our society."

"Bolivia is not yet a country of equals."

"It is very comfortable to coup the government, it is the most comfortable thing in the world, it is a very profitable business, it is practiced every day [...]. This is the country of ultimatums, this is the country of "if you don't do this I am very sorry but you will have consequences", this is the country of people who get involved with dynamite to demand that we do whatever comes to their mind, good, bad or fair. I am not going to continue with that logic, because Bolivia cannot be governed by that logic."

"We are at the beginning, on the threshold of a new time and that new time has to have a new leadership."

"[The vice presidency is] "the most stupid position of all" [...]. An office with a single objective, that of succession, with few clear powers."

"I am not a person that you can handle as you please, I am not going to respond to things that I do not believe in, I am not going to accept doing things that I do not think I should do. I am not controllable, Carlos."

"I am not a friend of demagogic positions and easy answers. My historical and ethical conviction is unalterable, but as a responsible citizen and much more as the president of Bolivians, my obligation is to reconcile the issues of principle with the demands of reality."

"Politics is not the art of ethics."

"Sánchez de Lozada sought to impose constitutional order and consolidate democracy with force. The result was a country on the brink of war [...]."

"Writing is for me like breathing."