New tension in Bolivia

The conflict between Evo Morales’s government and the Bolivian opposition has intensified after the Constituent Assembly allowed the original deadline for agreeing on a new constitution pass without any result, extending negotiations until December. The Assembly was formed in July 2006 to decide on constitutional reforms and to define the future relationship between the federal government and the provinces (see D+C/E+Z 2/2007, p. 48). A number of provinces in the affluent eastern lowlands want greater autonomy. Morales, on the other hand, wants to give the indigenous population more rights, a proposal which is rejected by the opposition-run provinces. According to the International Crisis Group, the two sides’ refusal to compromise is driving an even deeper wedge between the eastern parts of the country and urban middle class on the one hand and the western highlands on the other. (ell)