BOLIVIA: Bolivia warns demands to move the capital could escalate into civil war

Bolivia's vice president warns demands to move the country's capital once escalated into outright civil war, as thousands join another huge rally to support the move. Tens of thousands of Bolivians gathered in the eastern city of Sucre on Wednesday (July 25), calling for the seat of government to be moved from La Paz to their own city. The rally comes five days after the one of country's largest-ever demonstrations in La Paz that was against the proposal. Though the show in Sucre on Wednesday neared some 50,000 people, it was not a touch on the one million that gathered in La Paz last week. Nevertheless the pro-Sucre supporters are adamant about their cause, saying Sucre and its province of Chuquisaca better represent the Bolivian people. "We propose the establishment of a centre for national equilibrium in Sucre, to avoid major conflicts between the east and the west, erasing once and for all the grave danger of the disintegration of our country. The national diversity in cultures, of regions and of social classes finds his balance in Chuquisaca," said rally leader Jaime Barron. Sucre, which lies some 435 miles (700 km) southeast of La Paz, was Bolivia's capital during the 19th century and is still home to the Supreme Court and Constitutional Assembly. The idea of relocating Bolivia's seat of government there emerged during discussions at an assembly that is rewriting the constitution, a reform driven by leftist President Evo Morales. Critics say moving the capital would cost the impoverished country billions of dollars and split the nation. Vice president Alvaro Garcia Linera responded to the rally with a reminder to his countrymen that the same issue once tore Bolivia apart in civil war. "We forget in our memories that this issue was mediated during a civil war between Bolivians," Garcia Linera said from La Paz. "Is that what we want to happen again? What is wrong? Why are people returning to an issue that does not result in any social benefit for the country? That only generates feelings of hate and resentment between Bolivians." Some say the rightist opposition introduced the divisive proposal in a bid to stop the constitutional rewrite. Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, says rewriting the constitution will empower the Indian majority. His government says the capital city issue should not be included in the discussions to rewrite the constitution.

ITN Source | July 26, 2007

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