Mario Gustavo Guzmán became Bolivia’s ambassador to the U.S. in 2006. Born in 1957, Guzmán was a member of the Bolivian Communist Party in his youth, and became a professional journalist. He wrote for the La Paz newspapers La Razon and La Prensa, and was editor of the weekly magazine Pulso. As editor of Pulso, Guzman’s coverage of the October 2003 massacre of 60 protesters by government forces sparked a successful effort to oust then-President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, who fled to the U.S. While he is new to diplomacy, Guzmán has political experience, having worked as a communications advisor to the La Paz Mayor, Juan del Granado, and also for former La Paz Mayor, Ronald McLean.