The Autonomy Vote

People told us to stay at home on Sunday, not to go in the street, and for the most part we did stay in our house.

Sunday was the day of the autonomy vote in Santa Cruz, a Bolivian department (equivalent of a state) just to our east. Santa Cruz is the richest department of Bolivia, and many of its residents do not like Bolivia´s socialist indigenous president who has nationalized certain industries and who is implementing land reform. So the people of Santa Cruz, on Sunday, voted to be autonomous.

That doesn´t mean that Santa Cruz is seceding from Bolivia, or that there is a civil war happening. Santa Cruz is saying that it wants more governmental control. For example, Santa Cruz wants to raise its own police force, which is now only federal. It wants to control its highways, and to control the sale of its oil. The autonomy vote was illegal, and Santa Cruz won´t be able to implement all of its plans. The vote mainly was a bargaining tool for Santa Cruz.

Meanwhile, on the day of the vote a huge protest took place in Cochabamba. Tens of thousands of people came from the country to form many marches in Cochabamba, all meeting near the center of the city. The protesters in Cochabamba support MAS, the party of Evo Morales, Bolivia´s president. They marched for unity in Bolivia, and against autonomy of Santa Cruz and the other departments that are demanding it.

The protesters were mainly indigenous people -- factory workers, farmers, etc. -- and marched in traditional clothing, some playing traditional instruments. The protests in Cochabamba were peaceful, and it would have been fine for us to be on the street. However, the two houses operated by the NGO where I work are both full of our traveling friends, so hanging out in the house together wasn´t a bad way to spend a Sunday.

If you want to read more about Bolivian news and politics, check out democracyctr.org.