MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian governors unite against President Morales

The elected governors of six of the nine departments which make up Bolivia, and belonging to opposition parties, have broken relations with President Evo Morales claiming he has violated constituent assembly regulations.

The decision was made public over the weekend by the governors from Santa Cruz, La Paz, Beni, Cochabamba, Tarija and Pando which hold 80% of the country's population. The three remaining are under control of Mr. Morales ruling party MAS, Oruro, Potosi and Chuquisaca.

The nine governors reject the Assembly's regulation imposed last Friday by the MAS majority which establishes that the articles of the new Bolivian constitution will be approved by a simple majority and not the two thirds as marked by the current constitution and agreed in the bill convening the constituent assembly signed by Mr. Morales last March.

The regional governors said they were "breaking relations with the executive and not attending any meeting convoked by the president in which he tries to change the structure of government, undermine the law and destabilize elected authorities".

The governing MAS party, which has 137 of the assembly's 255 seats, had been fighting for individual clauses to be approved by a simple majority, rather than the two-thirds.

The body had been paralyzed by the debate since it began work in August.

But late on Friday night, the constitutional court refused to hear opposition complaints on the issue, and Mr Morales's supporters forced a vote through establishing the simple majority rule, although the complete document will need two-thirds approval.

The governors group has called for a national rally of social and civic leaders next Thursday in the city of Cochabamba "to defend legality, democracy and the unity of the country which is at risk".

Morales said governors had over reacted arguing that "if there's transparency and honesty in the management of the people's money, no national authority need fear the people and their institutions".

Samuel Doria Medina, head of the small National Unity party, is on hunger strike against the decision, while Carlos Alberto Goitia, of Podemos, the main opposition party, said his bloc "cannot tolerate this imposition by the MAS".

"This is an institutional coup against democracy, which is going to kill the assembly", said opposition political parties in support of their elected governors.

"This is a most bullish political attitude which ignores the laws of the Republic and is profoundly undemocratic" adds the political opposition.

"Governors have been under continuous political harassment from national authorities in a permanent attempt to destabilize our institutions".

To further complicate the situation another controversial issue, land reform promised by President Morales to his followers but which is currently blocked in the Senate is in the political spotlight.

Mr Morales over the weekend threatened to force the opposition-controlled Senate to pass his land reform.

"If certain legislators don't want to change the law, the people will rise up to change it by force," he said.