LA PAZ (AFP) — Four Bolivian opposition governors on Monday claimed the South American country was headed toward dictatorship with the help of Venezuela's firebrand leftist President Hugo Chavez.
"Bolivia is not a democracy anymore, Bolivia has a president with a totalitarian vision," Cochabamba Governor Manfred Reyes said at a news conference at Miami airport.
Reyes and three other governors were on their way to the Organization of American States in Washington and the United Nations in New York to denounce what they called the "theft of democracy."
"We are looking for ways to resolve the crisis without bloodshed," said Reyes.
Six of the nine governors in Bolivia have become increasingly vocal in rejecting a proposed new constitution that would broaden President Evo Morales' powers.
The Constituent Assembly, packed with Morales supporters, recently approved the framework of the new constitution. The governors claimed the move was illegal because the assembly members needed a two-thirds majority rather than the simple majority they gathered.
The assembly has until December 14 to give its final approval to the new constitution, and the government has said it would do so with or without the support of the opposition.
"The government plans to adopt a totalitarian constitution," said Reyes.
Santa Cruz Governor Ruben Costas claimed the move was inspired by "this person who is causing great problems in the hemishere," a reference to Chavez.
Chavez pushed through a new constitution in 1999, but he suffered a major setback on Sunday when voters turned down new changes he hoped would give him additional powers.
"What happened yesterday was a great victory of the Venezuelan people," said Costas, adding that this was encouraging for Bolivians fighting for democracy.
The governors also accused the Bolivian government of fomenting violence in the South American country.
Clashes between supporters and opponents of Moreales have often been marked by violence. Earlier this month, three anti-government protesters were killed in the city of Sucre.
On Monday, a group of 50 people in the colonial city of Santa Cruz started a hunger strike to protest the new constitution, as well as the government's decision to cut regional funds to finance a new pension fund.
The opposition governors of Santa Cruz, Tarija, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Beni and Pando -- provinces which hold about 80 percent of the country's wealth -- have been fighting for the past two years for greater autonomy to ward off government interference in their finances.
The governors have also been angered when the Congress recently approved a motion allowing the assembly rewriting the constitution to hold its sessions anywhere in Bolivia.
This was taken as a slap in the face by the opposition who want the colonial city to regain the status as sole capital it lost to La Paz in the 19th century after a civil war.
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