IIUC, this is actually worth following, as this could deal a serious blow to castro/chavez plan of turning bolivia into the stepping stone of their "bolivarian" expansion into latin america (as che guevarra tried to do); like the FARC crumbling down, this bodes ills for huuuugo, I wonder what the response will be?Two provinces in Bolivia are set to vote in a referendum on whether to declare autonomy from President Evo Morales's socialist government.
The votes on Sunday have been organised by conservative opponents in the lowland provinces of Beni and Pando. They hope to follow the lead of the country's economic powerhouse, Santa Cruz, which voted for an autonomy package four weeks ago.
President Morales said the autonomy move was illegal.
Another autonomy vote is planned in Tarija, which has major gas reserves.
| Santa Cruz Beni, Pando, Tarija — why, that's almost enough to form a new nation ... |
The president, who has more than two years left in office, faces a recall referendum on his leadership in August. If successful in the ballot, Mr Morales says he wants to hold a public referendum on a draft constitution which has been awaiting approval since last year. The constitution aims to enshrine reforms such as land redistribution to Bolivia's indigenous majority and sharing of wealth with the poorer western regions.
However, critics say it cedes too much control to the government in La Paz.
It's a feature, not a bug, the revised, heavily centralized and jacobine constitution was IIUC a legal coup, with the army and mobs of armed morales drones protecting the military school where it was drafted.
Mr Morales's opponents in the eastern states - home to a large part of Bolivia's oil and gas deposits - argue that his plans would unfairly privilege indigenous groups and would mean greater central control, including two consecutive five-year terms for the president.
Again, IIUC, "unfair priviliges" for the indians is a feature, not a bug, the neomarxists all over latin america are using race resentment as a lever, from chiapas to venezuela.