Two more Bolivian provinces hold 'autonomy' referendums

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Two more Bolivian provinces hold 'autonomy' referendums
11 hours ago

LA PAZ (AFP) — Two Bolivian provinces will take Santa Cruz's lead and vote Sunday for autonomy measures that President Evo Morales has branded illegal, amid rising tension between rich lowlands and poor highlands in this landlocked nation.

While small in population and economic clout, Beni and Pando in Bolivia's eastern Amazon basin on Friday defiantly set up polling stations for the plebiscites, as local politicians wound up their campaigns against Morales's socialist government.

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All four provinces from the eastern lowland region are resisting land and resource redistribution policies pushed by Morales that would benefit more the poorer, mostly indigenous Bolivians of the mountainous western regions.

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Both their governors belong to the right-wing Podemos party, the main opposition group to Evo Morales.

In Beni, there are 134,468 eligible voters; in Pando, 28,990.



Read more: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jyFJ-Jw7H3V-FP27P8tC-u0pZjag