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

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to come ...

. 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 Movement for Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (; MAS or MAS-IPSP), is a socialist political party in Bolivia. Its followers are known as ''Masistas''. In the 2005 Bolivian general election, December 2005 el ...

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 Departments of Bolivia, 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 ...

and

Pando Department Pando is a Department (country subdivision), department in Northern Bolivia, with an area of , in the Amazon Rainforest, adjoining the border with Brazil and Peru, Perú. Pando has a population of 130,761 (2024 census). Its capital is the city o ...

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 2 ...

) 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 2024 census, it has a population of 534,348 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 is ...

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 Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on the ...

, 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 (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univer ...

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 the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

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 (25 May 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 conce ...

, 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 in South America