BOLIVIA - President Morales faces a major internal crisis because

BOLIVIA - President Morales faces a major internal crisis in Santa Cruz

President Morales of Bolivia faces a major internal crisis because his left-wing leanings isn`t going down well amongst the elites of this nation. Therefore, the most wealthy part of this nation desires to obtain autonomy and this is clearly a threat to the Bolivian nation state. Therefore, can President Morales contain these forces? Or will the internal political dynamics of Bolivia unravel and create mayhem?

If President Morales does not either seek a compromise or clampdown on the pro-autonomy region of Santa Cruz, then surely events will only get worse? You can not have two governments within a nation and obviously for tax reasons, Santa Cruz is vital because of rampant poverty within Bolivia. Given this, President Morales must respond in either a positive and compromising way or if they decline this offer, then he must clampdown on this serious threat to Bolivia.

However, does President Morales have the power to do this? After all, it is clear that in the past the extreme rich often paid for private militias in many nations of this region. Or the armed forces were nothing more than a military unit which looked after the extreme rich and strong families who dominated society. At the same time the judiciary may also cause political mayhem because they may challenge his power base?

If we think about the past in South America, Central America, and Latin America, then the omens do not look good, do they? Because right-wing militias protected the Somoza family in Nicaragua and similar events took place in countless different nations throughout the region. So it is clear that divide and rule was often the way in this part of the world. Therefore, alarm bells must be ringing in the hears of the leader of Bolivia!

The only major difference between now and the past, is that in most nations it is left-wing forces which are in power, therefore, regional nations may assist President Morales? Also, he does have a strong power base amongst the poor and marginalized and he will surely take some comfort in this reality. However, wealthy leaders who are against him could easily cause havoc but some may fear retribution if they fail?

For now the situation is very delicate and President Morales must act in a brave way but he must not be naive because if he shows any weakness, then he may lose power? This situation needs to be solved quickly and autonomy must not be allowed within Bolivia because current demands are based on selfish motives. Bolivia needs a strong unitary state and to focus on developing the whole of society and of course "a new Bolivia" needs to be open to all the people of this nation and not just a rich elite like in the past.

Lee Jay Walker Dip BA MA

http://journals.aol.com/leejaywalker/uk/
http://groups.msn.com/Alternativethinkingaboutglobalissues