Bolivia's richest region votes on autonomy drive

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24449858/

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia - Sporadic clashes broke out in Bolivia's richest region of Santa Cruz on Sunday as voting started in an autonomy referendum seen as a rejection of President Evo Morales' leftist reforms.

Morales supporters, who have vowed to boycott the vote on autonomy from the central government, ransacked polling stations in at least three neighborhoods in the region's main city and burned ballot papers.

The referendum, which Morales says is illegal, would theoretically give the region's rightist leaders more control over taxes, policing and natural resources including fertile farmland and about 10 percent of Bolivia's oil and gas reserves.


"We're not going to vote in this referendum because its illegal," Jorge Flores said as ballots burned on a bonfire behind him. "We're Bolivians and will not be managed by the rich."

The vote threatens to further divide South America's poorest country between the wealthy lowlands in the east and poor western highlands near the capital La Paz, where Morales has strong support.

Bolivia's armed forces issued a rare statement overnight Saturday that backed the president and called the referendum a threat to national security.

TURNOUT IS KEY

Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, sees the vote as an effort to destabilize his government, engineered by conservative rivals who oppose his efforts to break up large landholdings and empower the poor, indigenous majority.

Analysts say the power of the referendum will be measured by how many vote, as opponents have pledged to abstain.

A resounding "yes" vote is seen forcing Morales to negotiate with Santa Cruz if he is to avert further rebellion in opposition strongholds in the east that also want more autonomy.

Tensions have soared in recent days in South America's poorest country as rhetoric built from the "yes" and "no" sides. Morales supporters burned tires at roadblocks thrown up since Saturday to stop people from voting in several rural communities.

"They (pro-government supporters) are afraid of us," said Cristina Solis, 65, a mother of six in Santa Cruz city's poorest neighborhood, Plan 3000. "They (the Indians) want to take away everything that we've worked for."

Sunday's vote has exposed a bitter rivalry between the more indigenous west and low-lying eastern regions, particularly Santa Cruz, home to a quarter of Bolivia's people and a third of its economy.

Its large, European-descended population is nervous about Morales' pledges to make up for centuries of discrimination against Indians.

Political analysts say the referendum will lose legitimacy if turnout is less than 50 percent.

"More people will abstain than are admitting to it now and more people will actually vote 'no,"' predicted Alvaro Puente, an analyst in Santa Cruz city.