Word: beni
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...voters. But like Bolivia's recall vote last August, in which Morales won 67% national approval, Sunday showed that Bolivia's east/west regional divide that brought the country to the brink of civil war last September remains. The constitution was heavily rejected in the eastern lowlands of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija where wealthy land and business owners dominate local politics. Criticism ranged from the constitution's elimination of Catholicism's privileged position as official religion to worry about "extreme indigenous power...
...resource-rich eastern regions they control turned violent. The opposition Prefects are demanding greater control over policies ranging from land reform to the allocation of the earnings of Bolivia's natural gas exports, which originate in their regions. Earlier this year, the departments of Tarija, Santa Cruz, Pando and Beni voted overwhelmingly in favor of opposition-drafted autonomy statutes, but since those referenda were not sanctioned by the national electoral court, the central government refuses to recognize the results...
...demands of the elite have gelled into "autonomy," meaning greater regional control over everything from land ownership to police to gas revenue royalties. The four departments, or states, of Tarija, Beni, Pando and Santa Cruz held non-legally sanctioned referendums earlier this year, approving their own autonomy statutes. Though these statutes have not yet been implemented, they have led the opposition to reject the newly written constitution, which is key to Morales' efforts to redress what his supporters see as centuries of domination over indigenous Bolivians...
...rise. In eastern cities, young men wave autonomy flags while they wield bats against indigenous women in traditional dress. Over the past few days, groups of opposition loyalists have taken over several state institutions (airports, state television studios, educational facilities) in the opposition controlled departments of Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Pando. Yesterday, just hours before the Morales' declarations against Goldberg, a bomb exploded on one of Bolivia's main natural gas pipelines, cutting into its exports to Brazil...
...thirds of Santa Cruz voters needed to pass, according to polls, and Governor Ruben Costas, a staunch Morales opponent, said recently that it would "give birth to a new republic." He has since denied that he implied a separatist movement for Santa Cruz or the other three eastern states: Beni, Pando and Tarija, which will hold similar votes this summer. But critics say the remark betrayed an underlying goal of the country's eastern elite: gaining total control over Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves and its most fertile land...