  We study the resistive evolution of a localized self-organizing
magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium. In this configuration the magnetic forces are
balanced by a pressure force caused by a toroidal depression in the pressure.
Equilibrium is attained when this low pressure region prevents further
expansion into the higher-pressure external plasma. We find that, for the
parameters investigated, the resistive evolution of the structures follows a
universal pattern when rescaled to resistive time. The finite resistivity
causes both a decrease in the magnetic field strength and a finite slip of the
plasma fluid against the static equilibrium. This slip is caused by a
Pfirsch-Schl\"uter type diffusion, similar to what is seen in tokamak
equilibria. The net effect is that the configuration remains in Magnetostatic
equilibrium whilst it slowly grows in size. The rotational transform of the
structure becomes nearly constant throughout the entire structure, and
decreases according to a power law. In simulations this equilibrium is observed
when highly tangled field lines relax in a high-pressure (relative to the
magnetic field strength) environment, a situation that occurs when the twisted
field of a coronal loop is ejected into the interplanetary solar wind. In this
paper we relate this localized MHD equilibrium to magnetic clouds in the solar
wind.
