The vote for autonomy (economic independence) in Santa Cruz was held on Sunday, May 4th. It passed with flying colors (86%), due in good part to the very effective advertising campaign paid for by the government of Santa Cruz (the state Tom and I live in). They plastered their propaganda on the walls, televisions, radios, t-shirts, and ball caps of every village and city of the region. The picture above is a billboard they put up outside of Okinawa to encourage people to vote Si, in favor of the referendum that made Santa Cruz an independent state. Ah, a smiling, prosperous family of four on a motorcycle.
No one knows just how this referendum will play out, but people are excited about being autonomous. Whatever it means. The president, Evo Morales, whose party was adamently opposed to the referendum and at one point threatened to send the military to prevent its passing, now calls the referendum nothing more than "a very expensive poll." So it goes in Bolivia. Everyone was up in arms for months prior to the vote, and the Peace Corps group that was due to come in May was cancelled for fear of massive violence and general chaos. Alas, the vote came and went more or less without incidence, and now all is back to normal. As it were.
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