This NBC News article reports that a fourth Bolivian state, Tarija in the eastern lowlands, has voted to establish autonomy from the central government of President Evo Morales in La Paz. The first state to so vote was the Santa Cruz state, a vote that was cited in this blog on May 5, 2008. The states of Beni and Pando voted for autonomy on June 1, 2008.
Morales is an Aymara Indian and his political constituency is the native peoples of Andean Bolivia. In the eastern lowlands, where the population is more European and less poor, the socialist income transfer and agrarian reform policies of Morales are far from popular.
One could easily imagine a separatist movement in eastern Bolivia which, if successful, would leave the Andean part of the country destitute, except for tourist revenues. Interesting things are happening in Bolivia, mostly under the radar of international attention.
