In many ways, Santa Cruz has long been a “rebel” department in Bolivia. Throughout the two centuries of the republic’s existence (Bolivia will celebrate its bicentennial in 2026), Santa Cruz has frequently opposed the central government. But the current conflict between the central government of Evo Morales & the oppositional prefect of Ruben Costas (supported by various regional “civic” organizations) is a new development.
I won’t go into the details of the current conflict, which I’ve posted about over the years. And the recent series of meetings between the country’s nine prefects & the president (Evo) have been remarkable developments. As Carlos Hugo Molina has commented, it signals a departure from the traditional centralized model of Bolivian government (the meeting also suggested that the draft constitution approved by the Constituent Assembly may still be open to revision). By meeting to negotiate as near-equals, it seemed that Evo’s government recognized a “semi-independent” status for prefects (and, by extension, the departments).
Likewise, the decision to allow Chuquisaca to hold an independent election to choose a new prefect is also remarkable. The department’s prefect (a former MAS member, now a dissident) resigned over the government’s handling of events in Sucre (the department’s capital) near the end of 2007 (the conflict left at least four dead & many injured).
Constitutionally, Evo could legally merely appoint a new prefect. And the country has never had region-specific elections. The country’s municipal elections are held at the same time across the country. The 2005 election of prefects (the first that was ever done) was held on the same day as the country’s “general” (presidential & legislative) elections.
The precedent of a single department holding a department-specific election is an interesting one. And it’s certainly not lost on Santa Cruz leaders who’re currently preparing for a referendum on the Santa Cruz “autonomic” statute. The election mirrors the kind of nation-wide referendum to be held to approve the country’s new national draft constitution.
But for some time already, the Santa Cruz prefecture has behaved as if it were autonomous in some important—even if only symbolic—ways. Take for example, the fact that it publicly refers to itself as the Gobierno Departamental de Santa Cruz. And rather than serving as an administrative agent of the central government (the typical role of prefectures), it openly endorses autonomy as its “official” policy.
Interestingly, the Santa Cruz prefecture/government has also transformed its Consejo Departamental into a legislative body. Originally, the Consejo Departamental was created to serve as a sort of link between the central government (through the prefectures) to the new municipal governments (created by the 1994 Popular Participation Law). As such, the department councils were “advisory” boards made up of members selected by (or from) the municipal governments.
By transforming its council into a legislative forum (it was the Santa Cruz Consejo Departamental which drafted & approved the department’s “autonomic” statute), the departmental prefecture/government is beginning to resemble a federal state (like in Argentina, Brazil, or Mexico, three Latin American federal systems).
And it was the Consejo Departamental that yesterday approved the Santa Cruz referendum on the autonomic statute. The council approved March 4th as the date for the referendum. No date has yet been set for the national referendum on the new constitution.
Meanwhile, the central government is turning to the current constitution & its referendum law to challenge the decision. (I’ll note that this is ironic, since numerous times the MAS government has violated existing procedural laws w/ the argument that popular will trumps “(neo)liberal” legal niceties.) Currently, only the National Congress can call a referendum. The government also pointed out that there are some issue that cannot be raised by referendum. These include: national security & taxes.
