SANTA CRUZ (Thomson Financial) - Violence erupted at some polling stations
in the gas-rich Bolivian province of Santa Cruz on Sunday as the territory held
an autonomy referendum.
Demonstrations took place in western parts of Bolivia protesting the Santa
Cruz vote, which the military has warned it views as a threat to the nation's
territorial integrity.
The referendum in Santa Cruz proposes to adopt statutes that would give
authorities control over their province and the right to create their own
security force.
The issues are key because the eastern region sits atop the country's
biggest gas fields and acts as Bolivia's economic motor.
Pre-vote surveys suggested up to 70 percent of the province's 930,000 voters
would back the autonomy move.
The province's electoral commission, which was acting independently of the
national one, declared half-way through voting that the process was a success,
with problems reported in only 3 percent of the more than 200 polling stations.
Leftwing president Evo Morales' socialist agenda has fuelled resentment in
Santa Cruz and the other opposition-run provinces and prompted their autonomy
moves.
Morales' program includes rewriting the constitution to give more land and
national wealth to the country's indigenous people -- to whom he belongs -- and
nationalizing foreign-owned firms.
TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com
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