I was recently asked to write something about Bolivia’s foreign policy for e-IR, a new online international relations journal published by students at Oxford, University of Leicester, and the London School of Economics. The essay (“Bolivia’s New International Stage”) looks at the country’s international relations in the first two years of Evo’s government.

The first is video of Javi in Michigan, including him & Valerie doing a “hop on pop” reenactment. The second is video of Javi back in his crib in Baltimore, playing w/ his new eBay acquisition. The last is video of Javi demonstrating his army crawling skills.

Click once to see a video play small. Double-click to see it larger.

As expected, Savina Cuéllar won the race for Chuquisaca prefect by a comfortable margin over the MAS candidate (57.3 to 39.4 percent). Although these are unofficial “quick” counts, they’re not expected to change much. (Official results from the National Electoral Court, w/ only about half of the vote counted, so far gives Cuéllar almost 75 percent of the vote.)

Bolivia’s first elected female prefect, Cuéllar is a native Quechua speaker & former regional secretary for the Bartolina Sisa Campesina Women’s Federation (FMCBS). She was also active in the resistance against the 1980-1981 Garcia Meza dictatorship. She had been, until recently, a supporter of Evo Morales.

The victory by the Interinstitutional Committee Alliance (ACI) candidate moves the Chuquisaca regional government into the opposition (leaving pro-MAS prefects in only Oruro & Potosí), and raises the question of Chuquisaca’s stance on regional autonomy.

Chuquisaca voters go to the polls today to elect a new prefect to replace interim prefect Ariel Iriarte. The previous prefect, David Sánchez (MAS) resigned over the government’s handling of the social unrest during the final days of the constituent assembly process in Sucre last December, which left three dead.

Savina Cuéllar, the candidate from the opposition Interinstitutional Committee Alliance (ACI), is expected to defeat Wálter Valda (MAS) & Felipe Cruz (AS). Correo del Sur has brief candidate bios.

On the eve of the election, power was cut to television stations in Sucre (w/ the exception of PAT & government Canal 7). The similarity to events in Tarija are worrisome, as are reports that cocalero groups from the Chapare (who call themselves “Satucos”) have arrived in Sucre. Various international observers have also arrived.

We’ve been back from our summer expedition for a few days now. It just took a while to get to some of the pictures from our cross-country trip (lesson learned: driving nearly 2,000 miles w/ a five-month-old is harder than we thought). Some quick notes (and pictures):

Our first stop was Chicago. Besides a short visit w/ family, we were also there for K8’s doctoral graduation ceremony from the University of Chicago. It’s a pretty famous school. Indiana Jones taught there, despite being denied tenure by Marshall College. Joking aside, the ceremony was great. And the bagpipes were a nice touch.

From there, we went on to Michigan. After a brief pit stop in Kalamazoo for lunch w/ some friends at Food Dance, we continued on towards Gladwin County (where my grandparents have had a cabin for more than 50 years). My parents were in from Bolivia. Javi also got to meet the rest of his cousins (Ayanna & Valerie), as well as my grandparents & aunt Kelly. Plus we also saw Sam & Novalí. Despite the weather, we all had an enjoyable time.

On the way back we stopped through Saginaw to see Matt & April (and their kids). Then on the road w/ a brief stop in Ann Arbor to meet one of K8’s friends for lunch at Zingerman’s.

After that, it was another 10 hours to Baltimore. At which point we needed some time to decompress.

Oh, and did I mention that I was part of the studio audience at The Daily Show on June 9? Well, I was.

As expected, voters in Tarija approved an autonomy statute by wide margins. Though final counts aren’t yet in, preliminary counts show that the “Sí” vote reached about 80%. Voters in Santa Cruz, Beni, and Pando have already approved autonomy statutes. It also currently looks as if voter turnout was higher than in the three other departments, despite attempts at preventing the vote by pro-MAS activists.

The fourth straight autonomy referendum—all carried out against the wishes of the central government—demonstrates a problem for Evo’s government. After the constituent assembly debacle, and the failure (by both government & opposition leaders) to negotiate a compromise, it’s becoming clear that regionalism is winning out. Later this year, the departments of Cochabamba & Chuquisaca will hold their own autonomy referendums (Sucre is the capital of Chuquisaca). These would be the first departments in which MAS won in 2005 & which rejected autonomy in the 2006 nationwide autonomy referendum. Meanwhile, the four “media luna” departments are moving forward to hold elections to regional assemblies, treating their autonomy as a fait accompli.

Back from vacation (and only now w/ cable/internet restored). Still catching up w/ news, email, work, etc. More later.

But some startling news from Tarija: An explosion at a Canal 4 installation in Yacuiba, Tarija. The department of Tarija is today wrapping up its own autonomy referendum election. At least one suspect (who has admitted to complicity) w/ ties to the presidential palace was rounded up: Lt. Georgef Peter Nava Zurita is identified as a member of the presidential guard. Another 19 civilians were arrested in connection. While Evo’s government denies any connection to Nava (though La Razón reporters who called for information pretending to be his cousin were given the opposite impression), opposition leaders are claiming this is a sign of Evo’s “state terrorism.”

Tomorrow will bring preliminary results of Tarija’s autonomy referendum. This now makes four such votes. Evo’s government has rejected all such referendums as illegal, and pro-MAS supporters have mobilized to prevent voting in each of the four regional referendum elections.