Weekly Report - 08 August 2013 (WR-13-31)

In recent weeks there have been clashes in the eastern department of Santa Cruz between supporters of President Evo Morales and those aligned with his long-time opponent, departmental governor, Rubén Costas. The familiar scenes in what was previously a bastion of opposition to Morales were triggered by a traditional cause of tensions – efforts to approve the region’s autonomy statute, a core requirement of the 2009 plurinational constitution.