Bolivia's Richest Region Votes Solidly for Autonomy

Santa Cruz residents line up to cast ballots. Several other regions also have scheduled autonomy referendums. (By Roberto Candia -- Associated Press)

Many of the people who elected Morales, however, argue that the changes are unfairly undercutting presidential democracy. Shortly after Marinkovic, the movement leader, cast his ballot here, protesters in La Paz burned an effigy of him in one of several demonstrations throughout the country against the autonomy push. In Plan 3000 -- a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of this city -- Morales supporters confiscated ballot boxes and set them afire in the street.

Like Morales, many of those protesters were born in the country's western highlands and claim Aymara or Quechua Indian ancestry. Many autonomy leaders, however, are of European descent. Some protesters said they believe the autonomy drive is fueled by racism against Morales, who has said he aims to redress 500 years of discrimination by giving Bolivia's indigenous populations more power.

Fernando Villarroel, 17, gathered with several dozen other opponents of the referendum on a street in Plan 3000. They spoke of the vote as a clearly drawn class struggle. The leaders of the autonomy movement -- such as Marinkovic and Rubén Costas, the elected prefect, or governor, of the district -- are considered by many in the indigenous communities of Bolivia to be members of a wealthy elite who cannot be trusted.

"We're going to burn all the ballots that we can, because this is illegal. We can't let the rich take over this country again," Villarroel said.

Jhonny Osinaga, 43, who stood nearby over the bonfire of ballots, added: "The autonomy leaders are a mafia who will only stick their hands in our pockets to take what little money we have. They'll get in power and charge us more for gas and electricity. We have no choice but to fight."

In most parts of the city, where support for autonomy was overwhelming, the mood was more festive than angry. Voters lingered outside polling places in the city's affluent zones, buying ice cream from roadside vendors and listening to music from car speakers. Santa Cruz residents often call themselves "camba," a term that aims to give cultural identity to the mixed-ethnicity natives of the region. Almost universally, they view Morales's efforts to elevate indigenous culture within Bolivia as divisive and racially exclusionary.

"A lot of people in other parts of Bolivia see us in a bad light, because there's a lot of rancor that is carried over from colonial times," said Dennis O'Connor D'Arlach, 28, a lawyer who voted for autonomy. "But we're mestizos here. We don't harbor ethnic hatred. This is the 21st century. We have to move on from that."

"I voted for Morales, but now I'm voting for autonomy," Hilda Altamirano, a hairstylist in Santa Cruz, said after casting her ballot. "I thought he'd bring a change and help distribute the wealth of the country more fairly, but he only pays attention to the members of his own party. So I still want change. I want a government that's fair."