Jim Shultz directs The Democracy Center’s Blog from Bolivia, based in Cochamba, Bolivia and San Francisco, Calif.
Updates in the Bolivian political crisis
Here’s a quick review of the events over the past couple of days surrounding Bolivia’s political crisis. For readers wanting more background we refer you to our special report posted Monday.Morales and Two Key Governors Sign Agreements on Talks
In La Paz today, President Morales and two key state governors, Rubén Costas of Santa Cruz and Mario Cossío of Tarija, signed an agreement to begin a new round of talks aimed at resolving the country’s deep political crisis. The agreement will launch talks starting on Thursday in Cochabamba, and will focus on four main issues of contention: the division of gas and oil revenue (IDH); the proposed new Constitution; regional autonomy; and pending appointments to the nation’s judicial bodies. The agreement was also signed by Bolivia’s Catholic Cardinal, Julio Terrazas.
Nothing in the agreement changes the difficulties that Morales and the Governors have had up to now in finding agreement on these issues, but the fact that talks will happen at all indicates that, as in Cochabamba in January 2007, the country’s fall into deep violence has created pressure to back up and try another way, for now.
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