Voting spotlights Bolivia's hardening political rift
LA PAZ, Bolivia - Both sides in Bolivia's bitter political standoff came out of last weekend's recall referendum with reason to declare victory. The big loser appeared to be national unity.
President Evo Morales won a renewed mandate for his socialist vision, garnering more than 60 percent of the vote, according to preliminary counting.
But his chief antagonists in the rebellious, resource-rich crescent of lowland states known as the "half moon" also savored their triumph. All four opposition governors in the region easily survived the plebiscite in an explicit endorsement of their march toward regional autonomy, a move that Morales decries as a treasonous splitting of the nation.
The president's electoral might was heavily concentrated in the four heavily indigenous western and central highland states, long his base, which he swept handily. But a majority of voters in each of Bolivia's other five states apparently voted for Morales's expulsion from office, according to preliminary results that won't be official for a week or so.
The upshot, according to many analysts, is that Bolivia is as divided as ever - perhaps more so, as hard-liners in the two antagonistic camps may now have the upper hands.
Any chance that Sunday's vote would inspire national harmony are fading.
"What is clear is that the extremes have been strengthened," wrote columnist Ricardo Paz. "We're in the same position as before the referendum, but more polarized and with more profound differences."
Following the elections, many despaired at the possibility of reconciling two distinct, mutually exclusive views of the nation: Morales' vision of a socialist, heavily indigenous republic versus the pro-capitalist, Westernized and decentralized Bolivia now on display in the eastern and southern lowlands.
"The national polarization has never been as clearly demarked as now," ousted governor José Luís Paredes of La Paz said after the vote. "I worry about the unity of the country."
The daily La Razon compared the scenario to a hard-fought soccer game that went from a 1-1 score before the vote to a 3-3 score after - still tied, but with both squads having mounted successful strikes and gearing for new attacks.
"What will these actors use their victories for?" La Razon asked in an editorial. "That is the question that will define the immediate future."
Eight governors faced recall on Sunday. In addition to the four victorious lowland governors, one pro-Morales and two opposition governors were ousted, and a governor who supports the president was victorious.
Both Morales and his major rivals seem poised to push forward their own, clashing agendas following the election.
In his victory speech, Morales eschewed his usual hard-line rhetoric and sought a conciliatory tone, even congratulating the opposition governors who survived the recall vote. He referred repeatedly to the "unity" of the Bolivian nation.
On Monday, however, the president's aides were already talking about reviving Morales's most incendiary blueprint: a constitutional overhaul. The president's new Magna Carta would break up large land holdings in the east, throttle demands for regional autonomy and allow Morales to run for reelection, currently barred.
"It is time to deepen, in a democratic way, the transformation of the nation," declared César Navarro, a leader of Morales's Movement Toward Socialism party.
Leaders from the opposition bloc were also preparing to accelerate their disputed aims.
Lowland lawmakers proclaimed their intention to proceed this week with a series of autonomy measures that would give the provinces greater control over policing, taxes, natural resources, and local government.
