Bolivian president Carlos Mesa offered his resignation to Congress on Monday, after only 17 months in office. Bolivia has continually been plagued by institutional instability and popular dissent. Mesa entered office after previous president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada fled the country in October 2003 amid protests over the exportation of natural gas through a pipeline to Chile. Similarly, recent and ongoing protests by a large part of the population, have centered on how the country will deal with the use and exportation of natural resources for the benefit of the majority of Bolivians. Mesa has said that he is opposed to any potential violence stemming from inevitable confrontations between protesters and police or troops, and thus sees resignation as necessary.