With a new constitution, the country’s at breaking point

Julien — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:23:13 +0100

M. Chuquimia

When Bolivia's constitutional assembly approved the draft of the new charter, the effects were immediate. Four provinces declared themselves autonomous on Saturday, and huge crowds took to the streets to protest against the constitutional reform. At the same time, tens of thousands of Morales fans, most of them followers of the MAS (Movement Toward Socialism) party, marched in the streets of the country's administrative capital, La Paz, in support of the change (see photos). Torn by the division between a large American Indian population and a wealthy minority, South America's poorest country is in crisis. Our observers follow the events.

Bolivia's new constitution is born into a chaotic climate

Julien — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:39:17 +0100

Material from our regional editor for South America, Cristiano de Sa Fagundes.

The Bolivian assembly approved a new constitution, which grants more power to President Evo Morales on Sunday. The approval was controversial, to say the least. There was an opposition boycott in the assembly, with only 164 out of 255 deputies present for the vote. What's more, the underlying tensions between supporters of Morales and mestizo Bolivians - who consider themselves descendants of Europeans - still run deep. In the run-up to Sunday's vote, there were violent protests in the central Bolivian city of Sucre, in which at least three people were killed. The extent of the violence can be seen in this video, filmed in Sucre on Nov. 23, where the constituent assembly had been meeting. We see opposition supporters tackling the police, and later, a policeman finds himself surrounded by rioters after his motorbike breaks down.

Post your questions to Cristiano de Sa Fagundes.

The video was filmed by Paul van Hooff, a Dutch freelance journalist, and posted on 23 November 2007.