Bolivia's main political parties planned to reject President Carlos Mesa’s resignation when Congress meets on Tuesday, calling his leadership a necessary evil to avoid total chaos.Indigenous protest leaders also said they would ask Mesa to reverse his surprise decision to quit over the weekend in frustration at street protests and highway blockades that have paralysed much of the Andean nation.Riot police with helmets and shields patrolled the protest hotbed of El Alto at dawn, but community leaders in the city said they would tone down demonstrations, fearing that whoever replaced Mesa could crack down on them and cause a bloodbath.‘‘The Presidency of Carlos Mesa is a necessary evil,’’ Roberto de la Cruz, an indigenous leader in El Alto, said. ‘‘If he resigns, it would be disastrous for our social movements. I don’t think (Congress) will accept it.’’‘‘That letter should not even be read,’’ Evo Morales, influential leader of Movement Toward Socialism, was quoted as saying. Hormando Vaca Diez, President of the Senate, said: ‘‘Carlos Mesa will be President until 2007.’’ —Reuters
