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Wealthy Elites Want Autonomy in Bolivia |
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Trouble was brewing in Bolivia long before Evo Morales came into office. The stove was lit soon as the Spanish read the Requerimiento. Morales' election simply upped the burner.
Not long after he came to office, wealthy Bolivians in Santa Cruz and the resource-rich southern regions have been looking for the exit, pushing for autonomy from the central government. Now, with a May 4 referendum on the issue approaching, Morales and his closest allies — Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and Cuban vice-president Carlos Lage — got together to denounce the vote, and highlight the economic motive behind it;
Indeed, this move should be interpreted as fearful Bolivian power-brokers trying to shore up their power, nothing more. While it's still too early to know how this will play out, it does raise interesting questions regarding secession.
In the case of Kosovo, Chechnya, or Darfur, most individuals on the Left enthusiastically support autonomy. I've even heard declarations that any group desiring autonomy should be granted it. But cases like this (as well as the American civil war) work against that argument. It's clear that secession can be used to either promote or undermine justice.
So where do we draw the line? As Alex previously noted, "somewhere between the stance of 'no border changes' and 'every ethnic/national/religious group should form their own country if they want' is some middle ground." This case is clear cut–Bolivia should remain intact. The overriding question, however, remains the same; where is that middle ground?
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