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Weekly Report - 16 February 2012 (WR-12-07)

BOLIVIA: Morales re-opens can of worms

Assurances by President Evo Morales that the October 2011 law prohibiting a road through indigenous protected territory “closed the chapter” on what had been a hugely divisive issue for the country and government, have proved short-lived. Last week, the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)-dominated legislature passed a bill authorising a non-binding referendum for residents of the indigenous territory (Tioc) and national park, Isiboro Sécure (Tipnis) which could pave the way for the construction of the government-backed road. The approval of the referendum, which has already been rejected by the country’s main indigenous organisations who opposed the road in the first place, followed a march by other supporters of Morales in favour of the project. This has triggered warnings of an escalation of tension, serving once again to expose the perennial difficulty for Morales of pleasing his support base in its entirety.

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