Indian Leads Bolivia--a First Since Conquest

LA PAZ, Bolivia — Aymara leader Victor Hugo Cardenas became the first Indian to rule Bolivia since the Spanish Conquest when he took over as acting president Sunday.

Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada transferred the reins of government to Cardenas, the country's vice president, in a simple ceremony at Santa Cruz airport in central Bolivia.

Cardenas, a 41-year-old linguist and university professor, will be acting president during a seven-day official visit by Sanchez de Lozada to Washington and New York.

Centrist Sanchez de Lozada and Cardenas, leader of the country's main indigenous political party, swept to power in June elections.