Thousands rally for autonomy in Bolivia

[Bacchus39]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/30/bolivia.autonomy/index.html

CNN) -- Thousands of people packed a broad street Wednesday in downtown Santa Cruz, Bolivia, listening to speakers urge them to vote "Si" Sunday on a referendum seeking autonomy for the eastern department of Santa Cruz.



"On the fourth of May, the eyes of the world will be upon us," said Branko Marinkovic, a rancher and leader of the pro-autonomy movement. "Let's show the world here, let's plant the seeds of democracy, liberty and autonomy."

Autonomy "is a fundamental right to be creators of our own destiny; autonomy is an essential part of our liberty," said Santa Cruz Prefect Ruben Costas Aguilera.

But a mine union worker opposed the supporters of autonomy. "They want to divide our departments and the whole Bolivian people," he told a reporter. "We're not going to permit that the country be divided."

The autonomy movement is also opposed by leftist President Evo Morales and would stall the plans of his MAS Party (Movement Toward Socialism) to redistribute land and wealth from the mineral-rich eastern provinces to the poorer western highlands in the Andes.

Though the national electoral court has called the vote illegal and said it will not honor the results, the Organization of American States was taking the matter seriously.

Dante Caputo, the head of the OAS's political unit, met Wednesday with government officials and those in favor of autonomy, then told reporters, "We're going slowly. We should go faster. You know why? There is only one motive: We can't allow any space or possibility for the production of acts of violence."

But speakers in Santa Cruz said the issue is not about rich versus poor, but instead is about whether a central power should be the one that makes decisions about a region.

The department of Santa Cruz is among the richest of the nine departments in Bolivia, which is the poorest nation in Latin America. Three other departments have said they, too, will follow suit.

Last week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez joined Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage in issuing a joint declaration of support for the Bolivian leader.