President Evo Morales made history in 2005 by becoming the first indigenous person to rule Bolivia. He campaigned on a platform stressing communal values, and looked to redistribute the country's gas and mineral wealth to the, often poor, native population.
Bolivia's most-prosperous state, Santa Cruz, though could have put a stop to those plans by voting last weekend for a greater degree of autonomy from the federal government. Residents of the eastern state were driven by a belief that Morales' policies favored the indigenous populations at the expense of other ethnic groups, and a desire to keep more of the state's natural gas revenues at home to deal with a booming population.
Morales was deeply upset at the autonomy vote, calling it illegal and noting that it took place despite an order from the country's supreme court postponing it. Bolivia has a strong central government, which dominates the country's economic planning. Santa Cruz's actions will take away some of the central government's powers. Worse for Morales, three more of Bolivia's nine states are looking to hold similar autonomy referendums.
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