BOLIVIA: Protests dampen mood at Bolivia's National Day celebrations

President Evo Morales presided over a National Day celebration on Monday (August 6) in Bolivia's constitutional capital of Sucre amidst protests from the opposition. Last August, Morales attracted thousands of indigenous supporters to Sucre celebrate National Day, but problems with his project to 'refound' Bolivian in the name of its poor, indigenous majority have strengthened opposition. Sucre's Constituent Assembly, a key part Morales reforms, has been paralyzed by legal problems and internal disputes. Many at Monday's celebration held signs and chanted in favor of moving the government seat from La Paz to Sucre. The opposition, centered around Sucre in the eastern part of the country, wants to move the capital out of La Paz, an area where Morales has the support base on the largely indigenous Andean plateau. On Monday, Bolivian national flags flew where the indigenous flags waved a year ago and a sign reading 'death to the central government' greeted Morales at the 'House of Liberty'. Amidst jeers and whistles, soldiers took down the sign, something Sucre Mayor Aida Nava called an example of the provocations feeding the conflict. "It's worth recognizing we've had some encouragement, but the country is profoundly divided and in permanent conflict. You have just seen how they took down the sign that civic committee and the people put up. That's provocative and it's permanent conflict. I think the country needs a break. Enough conflict in the provinces, in the industries, amongst the authorities because this is definitely heading that direction and it's going to hurt the country," she said. Early in the morning, just a few indigenous supporters turned out and were outnumbered by security. Opposition party member Jorge Lazarte said Morales' Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party was losing its core supporters. "His most reliable social base - the indigenous people who he has been making his decisions for -- has weakened. They've gone so far with their decisions that they ran into a dead-end. In face of having to save the Constituent Assembly, they had to be pragmatic, and the pragmatism of power has triumphed over MAS and reached an agreement with the opposition," he said. Many anti-Morales protesters took advantage of the day to push for the move of the capital to Sucre. "We're asking for the capital to move from La Paz to Sucre," one protester said. "To say this is to boycott the National Day celebration and is against Evo," another added. On Saturday, several members of the Constituent Assembly walked out, putting a symbolic hold to protest Morales.

ITN Source | August 7, 2007

Tags:. .worth. .waved. .mayor. .hurt. .attracted