Bolivians Projected to Approve New Constitution

ANTONIO REGALADO

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Bolivians approved a new constitution Sunday and handed a victory to populist President Evo Morales in his campaign to establish a new economic and political order in Latin America's poorest nation, preliminary results indicated.

Television stations reporting early vote counts projected voters had approved the constitution, 60% to 40%, in the national referendum. A simple majority is needed to approve the constitution.

Bolivian Voters Head to the Polls

The result signaled continued support for Mr. Morales, an Aymara Indian elected in 2005 who has clashed with the U.S. over drug policy, recently expelled the U.S. ambassador, and faces stiff domestic opposition in Bolivia's eastern states.

But preliminary results didn't appear to indicate the overwhelming victory Mr. Morales's party wanted. The projected 60% support would be enough to prevent opposition leaders from contesting the results, but illustrates how the country remains sharply divided. The margin of victory appeared to be less than a recall election in August, which Mr. Morales won with 67% of the vote.

On a day in which liquor sales were banned and only official vehicles were allowed to circulate, Bolivia was calm and voting progressed largely without incident.

According to television reports, heavy support for the measure came from Bolivia's highlands, populated by poor, largely indigenous voters for whom the constitution promises greater economic inclusion and new legal protections.

"In our country there are 36 languages, and the new constitution takes us all into account. For the first time there will be justice for everyone, we are all included," said Apolonia Sanchez Miranda, an indigenous leader and a deputy in the ministry of justice.

In Bolivia's wealthier low-lying eastern states, which are threatened by Mr. Morales's efforts to redistribute farmland and natural-gas revenues, a large majority of voters rejected the constitution, according to preliminary results. That could translate into continued support for autonomy movements in those provinces.

Bolivia is split on ethnic and geographic lines, and in the months leading to the vote sporadic clashes between Mr. Morales's supporters and opposition groups left more than a dozen people dead.

On Sunday, Mr. Morales sought to strike a conciliatory tone, saying "I congratulate the opposition on their democratic attitude and for leaving violence aside."

The new constitution seeks to give the central government greater control over natural resources and "decolonize" the country by redistributing wealth and recognizing new rights for Bolivia's majority indigenous population.

It also will allow Mr. Morales to run for another five-year term in general elections planned for December.

Bolivian political analyst George Gray Molina said despite flaws, the document may be a step towards uniting the divided country.

"What most Bolivians want and what I think we need is a hybrid constitution that can juggle liberal democratic values and indigenous rights," which the new constitution does, he said.

The document was the result of a political compromise reached in October after an increase in violence raised fears the country was sliding toward civil war. It removed some provisions favored by Mr. Morales's supporters, such as a requirement that all public servants be able speak an indigenous language, such as Quechua, in addition to Spanish.

"What the October agreement did is that it avoided violence," said Mr. Molina. "The downside is that it kicked forward some of Bolivia's problems."

For instance, more than 100 new laws will be needed to implement the constitutional changes. Mr. Morales has said he would institute the laws by decree if congress doesn't pass them.

The constitution also calls for the election of judges, a feature critics say is likely to allow Mr. Morales's party, the Movement to Socialism, or MAS, to dominate posts and politicize the judiciary.

"I think they want a government where the MAS and Evo Morales are the controlling factor, and where they can carry out what they think are the desires of the Bolivian people," said Peter DeShazo, director of the Americas Program of the Center of Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Mr. Morales, a former coca grower and union leader, has followed populist political strategies similar to those adopted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

In 2006, Mr. Morales nationalized Bolivia's natural-gas and oil producers, creating a windfall in government revenue that his government has used to fund social programs, including a monthly $28 stipend for the elderly poor.

Although such policies are politically popular, they risk backfiring if foreign investment drops as a result of greater nationalization.

On Friday, in a show of force apparently timed to influence Sunday's vote, Mr. Morales deployed troops to seize the Bolivian units of Argentina's Pan American Energy LLC, which the government said had failed to abide by nationalization rules.