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In Bolivia, autonomy vote deepens divisions

A bid by wealthy Santa Cruz province for greater powers is expected to pass=
,
setting the stage for a clash with leftist President Evo Morales, whom
detractors accuse of authoritarianism.
By Patrick J. McDonnell
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

May 4, 2008

SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA - Voters in this restive Bolivian province go to the
polls today in a bid for greater autonomy that is a direct challenge to the
leftist government of President Evo Morales.

The president calls the election an illegal maneuver by wealthy "oligarchs"
intent on breaking away from Bolivia and creating a pro-U.S. protectorate i=
n
the country's resource-rich eastern lowlands.

But supporters say the balloting is meant to preserve regional rights in th=
e
face of what they call a march toward authoritarianism and expropriation of
private land. They expect autonomy to strengthen their hand with the federa=
l
government on thorny issues such as land reform, distribution of natural ga=
s
royalties and a new constitution.

"We are not separatists. We are loyal Bolivians," said congressman Walter
Javier Arrazola, a pro-autonomy lawmaker in Santa Cruz. "But we don't
believe in Evo Morales' 'neo-communist' plan for our country."

Bolivia has become a key battleground in the ideological tug of war between
the Bush administration and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a key ally of
Morales. Like Chavez, Morales has nationalized key industries, assailed
alleged U.S. meddling and sought to rewrite his country's constitution.

Chavez has labeled Bolivia's autonomy vote "Operation Kosovo," referring
to
the breakaway former province of Serbia. He and Cuba's Fidel Castro have
said Bolivia faces a grave danger of breakup.

Morales has publicly alleged that the U.S. ambassador in La Paz, Philip
Goldberg, heads a "conspiracy" to oust him.

U.S. officials deny abetting any plot to topple the democratically elected
Morales, who rose to prominence representing growers of coca, from which
cocaine is made.

Washington says it supports Bolivia's territorial integrity.

"We are committed to the territorial unity of all the countries of the
region," the State Department's top Latin America diplomat, Thomas Shannon,
said in an interview published Friday in the Madrid daily El Pais. "At the
same time we are in favor of the expression in a democratic manner of the
interests of the different groups and sectors."

Polls indicate the autonomy measure will pass by a wide margin, perhaps
garnering as much as 70% of the votes in Santa Cruz, home to about 2.5
million of Bolivia's 9 million people. Anti-autonomy leaders are urging
residents to abstain from voting.

Both sides have pledged to avoid violence. Similar autonomy votes are
scheduled in three other provinces in the next few weeks.

Autonomy would allow Santa Cruz and other regions to function somewhat like
U.S. states, with separate police forces, legislatures and a say in the
distribution of funds such as hydrocarbon royalties that now go to the
government in La Paz, the capital. That would be a marked change in highly
centralized Bolivia and could dilute the power of Morales and future
presidents.

The autonomy movement has taken off in relatively prosperous lowland
provinces, where much of the nation's agricultural wealth and vast natural
gas reserves are concentrated.

The dispute underscores deep divisions between the subtropical lowlands and
the chilly and largely impoverished Andean high plains that constitute
Morales' base.

The regional divide has a strong ethnic backdrop: Morales, of Aymara Indian
heritage, has championed the cause of fellow indigenous highlanders, long
treated as second-class citizens in Bolivia.

But Andean Indians are less prominent in Santa Cruz and other lowland zones=
,
where the population consists of a broad mix of people with indigenous,
European and other bloodlines. Each side has accused the other of recklessl=
y
dealing the race card.

Morales calls himself a champion of indigenous rights, but critics here say
he is fostering a volatile struggle of race and class in South America's
poorest nation.

"Evo Morales is setting one group against another," said Arrazola, the
pro-autonomy Santa Cruz congressman. "This is a dangerous path for Bolivia.=
"

Supporters say autonomy will bring economic benefits, reducing the continue=
d
flow of Bolivians abroad, especially to Europe and Argentina.

"Our enemy is poverty," said Santa Cruz Gov. Ruben Costas. "And we
want to
try to defeat it."

patrick.mcdonnell @latimes.com

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