LA PAZ, Bolivia - The head of Bolivia's armed forces warned Thursday of violence and suggested the military could intervene in the political crisis as lawmakers gathered to name a new president and thousands of protesters marched to denounce their likely choice.

VACA DIEZ: GET OUT! Bolivian peasants occupy the 'Vibora ' field of Spain's Repsol company, about 190km Northeast of Santa Cruz de la Sierra June 8, 2005. About a thousand protesters demanding nationalization of Bolivia's natural resources and early elections have blocked access roads and entrances to the Santa Cruz fields. (Reuters)

Navy Adm. Luis Aranda Granados went on national television to urge the lawmakers to remain within the bounds of the constitution and hear the "will of the people" in their work to choose a new leader. He rejected an assessment by outgoing President Carlos Mesa that the country is on the brink of a civil war.

"It's evident that there does exist a risk of confrontation between Bolivians, but I would say the term 'civil war' is too extreme," Granados said. "Confrontation between Bolivians is the greatest risk."

Across the country in the colonial capital of Sucre, the lawmakers postponed an emergency session of Congress to name a replacement for the U.S.-backed Mesa, who resigned Monday after weeks of violent street protests.

They were widely expected to name Senate leader Hormando Vaca Diez, a conservative lawyer and landowner who is next in line to assume the presidency. The protesters have vowed to drive Vaca Diez from office if he assumes the presidency.

"We are going to respect the decisions of Congress because we are making a serene call for all actors in this conflict ... to arrive at a real solution," Granados said. "As long as there is no break in the constitutional and democratic system, we will continue to safeguard this entire process."

Moments after the admiral's comments, Vaca Diez announced the postponement of the Congressional session so party leaders could meet. He gave no indication when the session might be held.

"We are right now entering into our party meetings" Vaca Diez said without elaborating.

The protesters are demanding that Vaca Diez and the second-in-line to succeed Mesa both step down to allow the Supreme Court chief justice to take power and call early elections.

"Vaca Diez: get out!" thousands of coca-growing farmers shouted as they marched Thursday under rainbow-colored banners of the Indian majority movement in La Paz as they tossed booming firecrackers in the air.

La Paz has been effectively shut by weeks of protests by a mix of urban poor, coca leaf farmers, miners, students and labor activists. But the protests extend nationwide as disgruntled groups have cut off most major cities by blocking more than 70 highways in all nine provinces with barricades of boulders, flaming tires and other debris. Leftist activists also have seized several oil field installations around the country, crippling the national economy.

Hundreds of peasant farmers and miners were reportedly marching on Sucre, 640 kilometers (450 miles) southeast of La Paz. Troops were blocking entrances to the city, according to the local reports.

Leftist opposition leader Evo Morales lashed out at Vaca Diez, saying he was a wealthy landowner and another discredited member of the "mafia of the oligarchy" that has ruled Bolivia for decades. He warned against attempts by the military to break up highway blockades.

"Vaca Diez, do not destroy our country!" Morales said in a radio address Thursday.

The La Paz mayor, Juan Del Granado, also stepped up pressure for early elections by announcing he and 20 other civic colleagues were beginning a hunger strike, saying: "Our protest is not about politics, but about the future of Bolivia."

VACA DIEZ: GET OUT! Quechua peasants demonstrate holding a poster demanding a Constituent Assembly in Sucre, Bolivia. Thousands of demonstrators demanding nationalization of Bolivia's natural gas wealth and decentralization surrounded Sucre, as more than 2,000 police and army troops protected Congress while it met to weigh the president's resignation. (AFP/Aizar Raldes)

A farmer and businessman, Vaca Diez, 56, hails from the eastern region of Santa Cruz and is widely seen as a conservative and free-market supporter. However, his MIR party has been mired in past corruption scandals and is reviled by Indian and labor groups in the western highlands around La Paz.

Morales and other leaders are trying to persuade Vaca Diez to immediately resign the presidency, sending it to second-in-line House leader Mario Cossio. They want Cossio to resign as well, sending the presidency to third-in-line Supreme Court Justice Eduardo Rodriguez.

If Rodriguez becomes president he must call elections within five months, while either Vaca Diez or Cossio would be allowed by law to serve out Mesa's term, which runs until August 2007.

Vaca Diez refused Thursday to say whether he would allow such a scenario if elected.

"I hope that all goes well and that the peace can be restored in Bolivia," he said.

Camouflaged army troops with rifles at ready guarded the whitewashed hall where the leaders were to open their session in Sucre, the historic capital after Bolivia gained independence in the 19th century. Legislative and executive branches of government later relocated to La Paz, though the Supreme Court is still headquartered in Sucre.

Chronically unstable Bolivia, landlocked and with much of the country at high altitudes in the Andes Mountains, is South America's poorest nation. It is split between Indian and labor groups from the poor western highlands, and the ruling class from Santa Cruz in the east and the oil-rich gas fields to the south.

The divides created by the U.S.-backed war on drugs are also at issue: Opposition leader Morales draws his support from farmers who grow coca leaf, the raw ingredient for cocaine, while Vaca Diez would likely ally himself with the U.S. campaign to eradicate coca leaf plantations.

Weeks of protests coupled by blockades of highways nationwide crippled Bolivia's economy and strangled La Paz. His government buckling, Mesa offered his resignation Monday night after only 19 months in power.

© Copyright 2005 The Associated Press

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