MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Morales ratified but also the political scenario stalemate

Bolivian president Evo Morales was ratified in his post with a comfortable support in the range of 60% in Sunday's recall vote which also included the vice president and governors of all of the country's provinces.

However the results seem to confirm the political map of confrontation between President Morales and the provinces, some of which particularly the richest are pushing for greater political and financial autonomy. Although the official announcement from the Electoral Tribunal is not expected until Monday or later, two different exit polls confirmed 60% and 56.7% for the president, with 3 to 5 percentage points margin, and were announced on television private channels. According to the rules of the recall vote, Mr. Morales and his vice president Alvaro García Linera needed at least 53.7% of votes cast, which was the result when the ticket was elected back in December 2005. The main opponents of Mr. Morales, Ruben Costa from Santa Cruz; Mario Cossío from Tarija; Ernesto Suárez, Beni and Leopoldo Fernández, Pando were also ratified with ample margins while those of La Paz and Cochabamba were expecting results. Alberto Luis Aguilar from Oruro (pro Morales) lost the recall vote. When Mr. Morales originally made the proposal, the recall referendum was seen as an ingenious way out of the political stalemate between the central government and the provinces rich in hydrocarbons and agriculture which are against many of the first Bolivian indigenous president reforms such as land distribution, greater government intervention in the economy (nationalizations of oil and gas, telecommunications, public utilities) and investing in poor provinces taxes from the rich sisters. This led to serious violent confrontations and autonomy attempts which threatened to dismember the landlocked and poorest country of South America, particularly since the Morales administration wants reforms enshrined in a new constitution. Recall vote results confirm support for President Morales and strengthen his image but also for his main opponents. So far the positive aspect of Sunday's vote was that contrary to the violence of previous days, all developed peacefully and no major incidents were reported.