Juan Lechin, President of Bolivia. He doesn't look so well lately. At least, when anyone sees him in public, which is increasingly sparsely. Publicly, he claims to be fine, if suffering from some sort of chronic, nebulous illness. Privately, it's a good thing he doesn't know morse code.

See, Juan Lechin has opinions about the miners. He's not exactly thrilled with the fact that, under the present blockade, the miners are getting furloughed, or worse, forced to farm. Gold prospecting is, admittedly, acceptable. But it's not like he has great options to respond – if he strikes, the state has basically locked them out anyway, and it's doing the best it can under the circumstances.

Nevertheless, Juan Lechin has tried. Unlike most of the PRBI and its affiliates, he's not ideologically committed to the path Bolivia has set itself upon. There's no reason that, provided assurances his union would be free to operate, he couldn't flip to the more palatable, right wing Victor Paz Estenssoro. That possibility is precisely what has Colonel Ovando (retired) concerned. So, in partnership with the security services of Bolivia, Juan Lechin has been… well, not quite arrested.

No, far worse than that. Seemingly at random, Juan Lechin is shoved into a room and forced to conduct lengthy self criticism sessions. He's been subjected to electric torture (favored for a minimum of marks), and forced to admit to sympathies and collaboration with imperialist powers, in addition to other indiscretions. Sure, he still lives in the Presidential Palace, although his staff has been already replaced by Bureau of Statistics employees. But he seldom leaves the palace now, becoming reclusive even to his closest friends. His speeches are terse, support Prime Minister Ovando's agenda, and are thoroughly conventional. He makes remarks about graying under the great stress of the presidential office. He supports a PRBI backed slate of candidates for the union boards.

So, while Lechin is alive physically, it's pretty fair to say he's dead politically. With him goes one of the few remaining independent power blocks in Bolivia. Victor Paz may be constantly watched by Bolivian intelligence services, but he's not subject to this fate, not yet, at least. A cruel end to one of Bolivia's most sincere, and most chronic, revolutionary's careers.