LA PAZ // Bolivians have voted in favour of a new constitution that would empower the country's indigenous Indian population and allow the president, Evo Morales, to seek a second term this year. Exit polls by the country's largest television networks showed the constitution passed by 60 per cent, although this was less than the 67 per cent Mr Morales won in a recall election in August. Official results are not expected for a few days.
Mr Morales draws his support primarily from the country's biggest indigenous groups, the Aymara and Quechua. Mr Morales is himself an Aymara, and is the country's first indigenous president. Millions of Bolivians went to the polls on Sunday, queuing patiently before casting their vote. At the polling booths, voters were asked to tick either a green box with the word "Si" or a red one with "No". Voting instructions were in Spanish even though many indigenous voters, especially in the northern highlands, do not speak the language.
Mr Morales and his supporters claim that the new constitution will redress centuries of social injustice and marginalisation that came with the Spanish conquistadors and has been perpetuated by successive governments who favoured the white, elite minority. "The indigenous farmers, the most marginalised sector throughout the history of the republic, are now recognised as people with the same rights as any citizen," Mr Morales said Sunday night, speaking in front of the presidential palace in La Paz.
"We want change; change for the village and change for the country," Lucerno Diaz said as he cast his vote at a converted schoolroom in an Andean village near the Peru border. "We have never had a say in the economy or running of the country. That will happen now." However, opponents believe the new constitution will give indigenous Bolivians, who make up about 60 per cent of the population, rights above those of other Bolivians and will lead to greater political turmoil. Violent opposition protests in September killed about 20 people and forced Mr Morales to water down some of the changes, including radical land reform and his original plan to seek several consecutive terms in office. In the mineral-rich eastern lowlands the 'no' vote was leading, and four of Bolivia's nine provinces rejected the charter, according to the exit polls.
"The 'no' vote has put the brakes on the fools who wanted to destroy our country," said Ruben Costas, the opposition leader. There were also voices of dissent among the middle class in La Paz, the country's capital. "I am leaving for Europe next month," said Diana Garcia, a graduate. "The economy here is in a bad way and even if you get a job the money is too little to save. It is not a new constitution we need but a new economy."
Articles causing the greatest controversy included extending the rights of Bolivia's 36 indigenous people and setting up special courts for them, bypassing a judicial system that is seen as unwieldy and corrupt. It also allows the government to distribute land to indigenous communities and set ethnic quotas for state jobs, including members of congress. The Catholic Church has also come out against the new constitution as it fears it could open the way to legalising abortion.
Mr Morales has promised to stand for just one more term, meaning he must vacate the presidential palace by 2014. But some of his supporters are urging him to bring forward presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December before the opposition has a chance to regroup. Mr Morales has said Bolivia will need to pass about 100 laws in the next few years to implement most of the reforms laid out in the constitution. To do so, he will need to work with the opposition, which will in return push for greater autonomy for relatively wealthy eastern provinces, where Mr Morales is not popular and where a European-descended or mixed-race elite dominates the economy.
tclifford@thenational.ae
