Bolivia’s richest region of Santa Cruz voted overwhelmingly for autonomy on Sunday in a referendum widely seen as a rejection of President Evo Morales’ leftist reforms, exit polls showed. The ballot was the first of four referendums on greater autonomy from central government being planned by eastern provinces.
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/ 27 January 2005
Across the low-lying plains in this eastern Bolivia city, green and white flags hang from storefronts and drape from cars — symbols of a growing push for greater political autonomy in the country’s most prosperous region. Handwritten signs near the city’s plaza read ”Autonomy now!”