New Bolivian President Carlos Mesa, sworn in on Friday after the resignation of his predecessor amid a deadly popular revolt, proposed early elections widely demanded by protesters.

According to the constitution, Mesa can serve out the rest of former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's term, which was due to end in August 2007. But Mesa proposed he have a shortened mandate and that there be an early vote, something which Indian protest leaders had proposed in recent days.

Mesa is a journalist and historian who entered politics in mid-2002 to run for office with Sanchez de Lozada. He is not a member of a major political party.

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