La Paz - Negotiations broke down in Bolivia when regional
governors in rebellion against the federal government refused to sign
an agreement with President Evo Morales' administration, a senior
official said.
Rural Development Minister Carlos Romero insisted Sunday night
that the two sides made significant advances on the issue of autonomy
during 10 hours of talks in the city of Cochabamba.
'They can't say that there wasn't any agreement,' Romero said. 'If
they're trying to say there was no consensus, then they are just
playing politics, and we're not interested in that.'
But one of the governors said no consensus had been reached.
'We have dissented democratically, and it was not possible to
build a consensus,' said Tarija Governor Mario Cossio of the National
Council for Democracy, which is demanding greater autonomy and
control over revenues from natural gas in resource-rich eastern
Bolivia. 'We have not signed any document or any agreement.'
Morales, the country's first indigenous president, is trying to
push a redistribution of energy revenues to provide health benefits
to long-neglected poor sectors of the country.
Cossio and three other regional governors declared themselves in
rebellion last month over the issue of autonomy and tax revenue
redistribution.
Resulting unrest in the dispute since the end of August has left
at least 15 people dead.
The Morales government and its socialist backers are also pressing
in the National Congress to schedule a public referendum to ratify a
new constitution for the country.
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