Bolivian President Carlos Mesa vowed to stay in power on Saturday, denying the rumors of a coup d'etat and the possibility of his resignation amid pressure for the nationalization of energy resources.

According to a press release from La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia, Mesa said he will complete his term of office, which ends in August 2007.

While Mesa made the statement, hundreds of demonstrators remained on Murillo Square, in central La Paz. Groups of riot police and soldiers were positioned around the congress building.

Workers, peasants, miners, professors and Indians were mobilized to take part in another wave of protests on Monday, the press release said.

On Wednesday, two military officers demanded that Mesa resign to make way for them to head a transitional government. But the demand was rejected by the armed forces of Bolivia.

Mesa, who took power on Oct. 17, 2003, has been grappling with mounting pressure for nationalizing the country's natural gas industry.

Protesters took to the streets after the congress passed a law on May 17 to levy a 50-percent tax on foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country, which boasts an estimated 48.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, the second-highest reserves in South America after Venezuela.

The opposition in the country insisted on higher taxes before adding the demand for the nationalization of the lucrative oil and gas industry.

Analysts say the political situation in Bolivia is similar to the one leading to the quitting of former President Gonzalez Sanchez de Lozada, who was replaced by Mesa, then vice president, as a result of failure to settle a disagreement over the exploitation of the country's gas reserves.

On two occasions in March, Mesa threatened to resign as opinion polls showed that his popularity had fallen from 60 percent to 44 percent.

Source: Xinhua