MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian president accepts challenge of recall referendum

Bolivian President Evo Morales agreed to a nationwide recall referendum, gambling that Bolivians will re-elect him after just two years in office and confirm support for his plan of reforms which has been condemned by some of the country's richest provinces.

Morales first proposed a nationwide recall referendum last December amid a fierce political battle over his draft constitution, which would give Bolivia's long-oppressed indigenous population greater power and a greater share of the country's resources benefits. Following on last Sunday's autonomy referendum in the province of Santa Cruz, which marked an overwhelming support, but President Morales considered "illegal and illegitimate" generating a dangerous political stalemate, the opposition controlled Bolivian Senate passed a bill ordering a referendum within 90 days. President Morales accepted the challenge and pledged he would sign the decision. "If we politicians can't agree, it's best that the people decide our destiny" Morales said in a nationally televised address on Thursday. The measure would require Morales and Bolivia's nine provincial governors to win both more votes and a greater percentage of support than they did on a 2005 ballot. If they fall short, they will have to run again in a new general election. Bolivian governors did not immediately react to the president's announcement, but most have previously said they would participate in such a vote. Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president won the presidency with 53.7% of the vote in December 2005. Public opinion polls show his popularity still hovers above 50% and telephone-based surveys generally reach only city dwellers, excluding Morales' strong base in the poorer countryside. But provincial governors rejecting Morales package of reforms and battling for increased autonomy have replaced traditional political parties as the president' most powerful opponents. His opposition is particularly strong in Santa Cruz and the nation's eastern lowlands rich in oil and gas resources and farmland.