Bolivia to vote on president's rule

Evo Morales, Bolivia's president, has agreed to hold a vote of confidence on his rule amid a power struggle between his government and wealthy provinces. The referendum is to be held within 90 days and will also determine the political fate of Bolivia's vice president and its nine regional governors. "If we politicians can't agree, it is better for the people to decide the country's destiny," Morales said on May 8 in a televised address, hours after congress approved a resolution calling for the vote. The decision comes just days after voters in the country's richest region, Santa Cruz, voted for autonomy from Morales' left-wing government in a referendum. Morales, who has condemned autonomy votes as divisive and illegal, asked for all of Bolivia's nine regional governors to meet him to avoid further division. The governors of the eastern lowland regions of Tarija, Beni and Pando, which also plan autonomy referendums before the end of June, said they would not meet Morales until after their votes have gone ahead. The referendums pit the wealthier eastern part of the country against the western highlands, where Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, has his support base. Speaking in Santa Cruz, Morales said: "This Bolivian family cannot be divided. Autonomy must be for all Bolivians, with social justice, not autonomy just for groups." The terms of Morales and Alvaro Garcia Linera, the vice president, formally end in January 2011 but could be cut short if more than 53.74 percent of voters reject them. The impending nation-wide vote on Morales's rule, which he first proposed in December as a means of shaking down the dissenting governors, is meant to show who has the support of the people. The opposition, however, is banking on winning the vote of confidence, riding on a tide of support shown in the Santa Cruz referendum, where 85 percent of voters backed more autonomy from La Paz, Bolivia's seat of governance. The autonomy referendums are widely seen as a rejection of Morales' left-wing policies, particularly his goal of redistributing lands to Bolivia's poor, indigenous majority. His pro-indigenous policies worry the wealthy eastern provinces, where some large landowners see him as a threat to booming biofuel agriculture. The referendum votes would in theory give conservative-leaning regions more control over natural resources and the tax and justice systems.