Bolivia's largest state Santa Cruz, voted on Sunday on an autonomy measure that would keep most of the state's key natural gas revenues in their hands and would shelter the state's vast soy plantations and cattle ranches from President Evo Morales' plan to redistribute land to the poor. The referendum had been declared illegal and unconstitutional by Bolivia’s National Electoral Court, but as polls closed exit surveys conducted by local news media sympathetic to autonomy, showed as much as 85 percent support. The abstention rate was reported to be as high as 45%, up to 3 times higher than normal in Bolivia. This is attributed to the fact that anyone against autonomy or who believed that the vote was unconstitutional would likely have boycotted the polls.
There were violent protests against the vote in the poor Santa Cruz neighborhood of Plan 3000--a bastion of support for Morales populated by Indian immigrants from the poorer western highlands. The protesters not only boycotted the polls but also burned ballot boxes.
BioPepe Escobar, born in Brazil is the roving correspondent for Asia Times and an analyst for The Real News Network. He's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, based in London, Milan, Los Angeles, Paris, Singapore, and Bangkok. Since the late 1990s, he has specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central Asia, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has made frequent visits to Iran and is the author of Globalistan and also Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad During the Surge both published by Nimble Books in 2007. Comments from Registered Members | (Register or log in to make your comment.) | Garrett 2008-05-07
Pepe...La Higuera, Bolivia October 9, 1967. My step-father was the agent who actually caught him. Che wasn't supposed to die. Felix Rodriguez and the others took orders from a "different source". Your Roberto Rodrigues takes orders from this SAME SOURCE.
My step-father was a veteran of the Phoenix Program in Vietnam and the Contra war in Nicaragua. Nothing gave him more regret than what happened in La Higuera. It's what caused him to eventually drink himself to death. Pepe...please do the right thing and expose Roberto Rodrigues. | Garrett 2008-05-07
Cornelius my man...you're absolutely right but you're posting on the wrong vid.
Mr. Jay...your supposed friends in the left wing indie-media are actually your worst enemies. Besides they all receive paychecks from Langley, Virginia. Do it man..tell the truth. You have the most sophisticated socio-political savy readership out there. We all know this is make or break time for you. What's more important? Wine and cheese in Sonoma County or the truth? Do it man...DO IT!!! | Cornelius 2008-05-07
Pastor Wright is correct And Obama is just a run of the mill politician .If Obama spoke truth to power his voice would not be covered by the Zionist controlled corporate controlled U.S. media. For revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.
Pastor Wright is correct about AIDS, correct, about Palestine ,correct about Jesus being black, but incorrect about 9/11 which was not a real “chickens coming home to roost “event but rather a black-OP false flag farce.
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VOICE OF CARLO BASILONE: Bolivia's largest state, Santa Cruz, voted on Sunday on an autonomy measure that would keep most of the state's key natural gas revenues in their hands and would shelter the state's vast soy plantations and cattle ranches from President Evo Morales' plan to redistribute land to the poor. The referendum had been declared illegal and unconstitutional by Bolivia's national electoral court. But as polls closed, exit surveys conducted by local news media sympathetic to autonomy showed as much as 85 percent support. The abstention rate was reported to be as high as 45 percent, up to three times higher than normal in Bolivia. This is attributed to the fact that anyone against autonomy or who believed that the vote was unconstitutional would likely have boycotted the polls. There were violent protests against the vote in the poor Santa Cruz neighborhood of Plan Tres Mil, a bastion of support for Morales populated by Indian immigrants from the poorer western highlands. (CLIP BEGINS)SPEAKER (SUBTITLED TRANSLATION): We will do to Costas (governor) what we did to (former president) Goni, friends.(CLIP ENDS)The protesters not only boycotted the polls but also burned ballot boxes.(CLIP BEGINS)CROWD (SUBTITLED TRANSLATION): Down with autonomy!(CLIP ENDS)PEPE ESCOBAR, ANALYST, THE REAL NEWS NETWORK: Racist separatism. That's the key to understanding the referendum for autonomy in Santa Cruz in Bolivia this past Sunday. Santa Cruz, along with three other provinces who had referendums later this year want autonomy, but they want to secede from the rest of the country, especially the western part of Bolivia, where the indigenous populations is an extreme majority. It's not such a majority in the eastern lowlands. Santa Cruz is part of the eastern lowlands, and it's also the richest province in terms of natural resources in Bolivia. The results tell us that between 84 and 85 percent voted for (C), for "Yes, we want autonomy." And between 35 percent to 40 percent abstained.(CLIP BEGINS)WOMAN (SUBTITLED TRANSLATION): Autonomy won, because, whether we voted or not, they would have won anyway because they don't count us, the ones that didn't participate. I didn't vote, and they don't include that. They say they got 85%, but only of the participants.(CLIP ENDS)This referendum is unconstitutional. These people didn't even bother to vote because they knew the referendum was unconstitutional, not because Evo Moralels' government, a legitimate government, told them, but because other Latin American countries, none of them recognized the referendum. It was a triumph for racist separatists. This means the white, land-owning oligarchy who has controlled Bolivia for the past 450 years. And now that Evo Morales' government is trying to redistribute wealth and to give a little more of the wealth concentrated in the east to the western part of the country, where the majority indigenous population lives, obviously the oligarchy, with the help of the US via Philip Goldberg, the American ambassador in La Paz, plus the CIA, plus the National Endowment for Democracy and USAID, they're trying to destabilize the country and blame it all on Evo Morales. No, it won't happen, because the rest of South America is with Bolivia, and Bolivia's march towards a more equitable system and more redistribution of wealth will not stop, whatever the autonomists say.DISCLAIMER:Please note that TRNN transcripts are typed from a recording of the program; The Real News Network cannot guarantee their complete accuracy. |
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