A referendum to approve the autonomy statute of Santa Cruz Department of

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

was held on 4 May 2008. The vote resulted from strains between the Prefecture of Santa Cruz and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Evo Morales. The referendum was declared illegal and unconstitutional by the National Electoral Court. Final results from the referendum showed that 85.6% of participating voters supported autonomy. Abstention rates were 37.9%. Partisans of the

Movement for Socialism The Movement for Socialism–Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples ( es, Movimiento al Socialismo–Instrumento Político por la Soberanía de los Pueblos, abbreviated MAS-IPSP, or simply MAS, punning on ''más'', Spanish for ...

called for a boycott of the vote, and the Guarayo, Guaraní, Chiquitano, Ayoreo, Yuracaré-Moxeño indigenous peoples were urged to reject holding the vote in their territories. Similar referendums were held in

Beni Department Beni (), sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second-largest department in the country (after Santa Cruz), covering 213,564 square kilometers (82,458 sq mi), and it was cre ...

and Pando Department on 1 June 2008 (see

2008 Bolivian autonomy referendums Referendums on departmental autonomy statutes were held in four departments of Bolivia—Beni, Pando, Santa Cruz, and Tarija—in May and June 2008. These four departments, known as the ''Media Luna'', voted in favor of autonomy in the June 200 ...

) and in

Tarija Department Tarija () is a department in Bolivia. It is located in south-eastern Bolivia bordering with Argentina to the south and Paraguay to the east. According to the 2012 census, it has a population of 482,196 inhabitants. It has an area of . The city ...

on 22 June 2008 (see

2008 Tarija autonomy referendum An autonomy referendum was held in Tarija Department in Bolivia on 22 June 2008, following the autonomy referendum held in Santa Cruz Department on 4 May 2008 and the autonomy referendums held in Beni Department and Pando Department Pando i ...

Response

Ruben Costas Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portuguese ...

, the governor of Santa Cruz, welcomed the result saying ”With the vote the start of a structural reform of transcendental importance in our nation has been consolidated...The ballot boxes have delivered their verdict: the emissaries of evil cannot impose their bitterness and hate". The

United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

stated in its annual human rights report that the referendums: "took place even though the National Electoral Court ruled that the prefectures did not have the authority to call for such a vote and that they were infringing the Constitution." A

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

mission to Bolivia from the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues later declared that the Santa Cruz autonomy statute "promotes, allows, strengthens and reproduces practices of servitude", referring to conditions of debt-servitude and conditions analogous to slavery that are suffered by some indigenous groups in Santa Cruz.

Bartolomé Clavero Bartolomé Clavero Salvador (1947 – 30 September 2022) was a Spanish jurist and historian, specialized in legal history. Clavero was a tenured full professor at the University of Seville. His works focus on usury, majorat and the concept of S ...

, a Spanish law professor from the Permanent Forum later stated that: "Anyone who has voted for this statute supports servitude."

Legacy

Evo Morales's government eventually reversed its position on autonomy during the 2009 election, granting autonomy to Santa Cruz in 2010 along similar lines to those requested in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Cruz Autonomy Referendum, 2008 2008 elections in South America 2008 in Bolivia 2008 referendums Autonomy referendums Referendums in Bolivia Regionalism (politics) May 2008 events in South America