Morales' wealthy opponents win elections in Bolivia
Posted: July 11, 2008
by: Rick Kearns / Indian Country Today
LA PAZ, Bolivia - The battle over the political future of Bolivia has reached a new level of tension, with another showdown coming Aug. 10.
The official regional autonomy votes have gone against President Evo Morales. The official tally is now seven regions opposed to and two supporting MAS supervision, although the fight for political control and autonomy is far from over.
Morales and his allies are charging the wealthy leaders of the ''half-moon region'' with sedition and conducting unconstitutional elections that included violent repression of MAS supporters. The conflict between the two sides has been escalating since the Aymara leader began nationalizing oil companies and using some of the profits for education and health care, as well as giving land to impoverished indigenous and rural peoples. His fiercest opponents come from the wealthy states of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija, which comprise the half-moon region where most of the country's oil and mineral resources are located.
The Morales government is asking the Bolivian Congress to sanction two opposition states for rejecting the congressionally passed Aug. 10 referendum - which would decide if the president and all of the governors would stay or leave office - as well as ignoring the constitution and, according to Minister of the Presidency Juan Ramon Quintana, ''for having orchestrated a sinister coup plot against the democracy and the unity of the nation.''
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