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<font face="Verdana" size=2>May 9, 2008<br>
<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/dangl05092008.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.counterpunch.org/dangl05092008.html<br><br>
</a></font><h1><font size=4><b>Santa Cruz Votes for Autonomy <br><br>
<br>
</i></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5 color="#990000">
Polarizing
Bolivia</b></font></h1><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>By
BENJAMIN DANGL <br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=6 color="#990000">A</font><font size=3>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=2>vote for autonomy in Santa Cruz,
Bolivia was passed by approximately 82% of voters on Sunday, May 4th. The
vote endorses a move by Santa Cruz to, among other things, gain more
control of gas reserves in the area and resist the central government’s
break up of large land holdings. Clashes during the vote in Santa Cruz
left 35 injured. One man died from asphyxiation due to tear gas fired by
police forces. The vote and conflict marks a new phase in the
polarization of Bolivia, and a new challenge for the region.
<br><br>
However, various aspects of the autonomy vote weaken its legitimacy. The
Bolivian Electoral Court, the Organization of American States, the
European Union, Bolivian President Evo Morales and other South American
leaders have stated that the vote is illegal. The national average for
voter abstention in Bolivian elections is 20-22%. In the Santa Cruz
referendum on May 4th, the rate of abstention was 39%. This abstention
percentage added to the number of "No" votes means that at
least 50% of Santa Cruz voters did not support the autonomy statute,
according to
<a href="http://www.bolpress.com/art.php?Cod=2008050422">Bolpress</a>.
The organizers of the vote in Santa Cruz hired a private firm to count
and collect the votes, and voters reported widespread fraud and
intimidation across the department. In some cases, ballot boxes arrived
in neighborhoods with the "Yes" ballot already marked. (For an
extensive report with interviews and photos on the vote and conflict in
Santa Cruz, see
"<a href="http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1270/1/">
Santa Cruz Divided</a>.") <br><br>
The Santa Cruz autonomy movement’s architects and leaders are right wing
politicians, wealthy business owners and large landholders. The autonomy
statute voted on calls for increased departmental control of land, water
and gas. This would potentially block Morales’ plans to break up large
land holdings and redistribute that land to small farmers. The
application of the autonomy statute would also mean a redirection of gas
wealth from the central government to the Santa Cruz government. Such a
move would run counter to the new draft of the constitution passed in
December of 2007, which states that the Bolivian people are the owners of
the nation’s natural resources, and that those resources should be
managed under largely state control. This draft constitution is set to be
voted on in a referendum sometime this year. <br><br>
Morales announced a partial nationalization of gas reserves in Bolivia on
May 1st of 2006. The subsequent renegotiated contracts have led to $2
billion a year in government revenues, an increase from $180 million in
2005, according to IPS journalist and political analyst
<a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42220">Franz
Chavez</a>.<br><br>
This revenue for the Morales administration could be put at risk,
particularly if autonomy referendums in the departments of Beni, Pando
and Tarija pass in the coming weeks. Tarija is a department producing
approximately 80% of Bolivian gas. Autonomy for these four departments is
to include the ability to sign new gas exportation contracts with foreign
entities. However, Brazil and Argentina, two of the biggest importers of
Bolivian gas, continue to support the Morales government and do not
officially recognize the autonomy referendums. This would likely cut off
pro-autonomy departments from negotiating new gas exportation deals.
<br><br>
In addition to economic powerhouses such as Argentina and Brazil, the
leaders of Venezuela and Ecuador have also come out against the autonomy
vote in Santa Cruz. Rafael Correa, the president of Ecuador commented on
the autonomy movement in his weekly radio program: "This is not just
Bolivia's problem, and we aren't going to allow it. Nobody is going to
recognize this illegal referendum. It's a strategy to destabilize
progressive governments in the region." <br><br>
The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a coalition of
progressive governments in Latin America, made a declaration
<a href="http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1258/68/">
stating</a> that the countries in ALBA "reject the destabilization
plans that aim to attack the peace and unity of Bolivia". It stated
that ALBA nations would not recognize "any juridical figure that
aims to break away from the Bolivian national state and violates the
territorial integrity of Bolivia". This support is important for
Morales, as it shows he is not alone in the region and has backing from
major nations in negotiating with the Santa Cruz autonomy movement.
<br><br>
In the current draft of the Bolivian constitution, passed in the
constituent assembly in December 2007, stipulations do exist for various
forms of autonomy and decentralization to develop for departments as well
as indigenous groups. Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca
<a href="http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=13317&formato=HTML">
said</a>, "We’re not against autonomies, but rather support
constitutional, legal autonomies that strengthen the country’s unity. In
Bolivia there’s an attempt to use a legitimate and democratic instrument
as voting for an anti democratic, anti constitutional objective."
<br><br>
President Morales and other leaders and analysts in the region have
denounced US interference in Bolivian affairs, stating that Washington is
supporting the autonomy movement in Santa Cruz through USAID funding and
the National Endowment for Democracy. (See
"<a href="http://www.progressive.org/mag_dangl0208">Undermining
Bolivia</a>" for more information on this intervention.) Thomas
Shannon, the US State Department’s top Latin American diplomat
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bolivia4-2008may04,0,7466682.story">
said</a> in an interview with the Madrid newspaper El Pais<i>:</i>
"We are committed to the territorial unity of all the countries of
the region… At the same time we are in favor of the expression in a
democratic manner of the interests of the different groups and
sectors." <br><br>
Meanwhile, the Morales government is moving ahead with planned changes.
On May 1st of this year the government took over the Italian-owned Entel
company, the largest telephone company in Bolivia. The government had
accused the company of failing to expand their phone network
sufficiently. At the same time, Morales announced a $6.3 million deal
with Repsol, a Spanish oil company. During a May 1st speech, Morales
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN0145291020080501">
said</a> "we are consolidating the energy nationalization. The
Bolivian state has 50 percent plus one share of the capitalist, or
so-called capitalist, companies." <br><br>
In spite of the opposition in Santa Cruz, Morales support throughout the
country remains strong. A poll conducted in Bolivia on May 5th by
<a href="http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/30614/most_bolivians_content_with_president_morales">
Ipsos Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado</a> indicated that Morales has a 54%
approval rating, down just 2% from March. <br><br>
Though the goals of the autonomy movement may not be realized for some
time, the May 4th vote increases tensions in an already polarized nation.
Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera suggests this conflict is a
part of the historic changes that Bolivia has been going through since
the election of Morales. <br><br>
"What‘s interesting is how important the struggle for identity has
become the importance of asking ‘Who are we?‘ to place ourselves in the
world," Linera explained to the
<a href="http://www.localnewswatch.com/jordanfalls/stories1/index.php?action=fullnews&id=760">
Associated Press</a>. "The crisis unites us," he said.
"Today the elite have to think, ‘What do I have in common with my
maid?‘" <br><br>
<b>Benjamin Dangl</b> is the author of
"<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Price-Fire-Resource-Movements-Bolivia/dp/190485933X/ref=pd_ts_b_2?ie=UTF8&s=books">
The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in
Bolivia</a>," (AK Press). He is an editor at UpsideDownWorld.org, a
website on activism and politics in Latin America, and TowardFreedom.com,
a progressive perspective on world events. Email bendangl(at)gmail.com
<br><br>
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