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S. American Leaders Rush To Troubled Bolivia's Aid

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The Associated Press

Published: September 16, 2008

SANTIAGO, Chile - South American presidents met urgently Monday hoping to prevent a political collapse in Bolivia, where the government planned to charge a rebellious eastern governor with genocide for allegedly ordering the machine-gunning of peasants.

Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales, arrived at the hastily called summit having effectively lost control of half of his country. Anti-Morales protesters have blocked highways, taken over national government offices, closed border crossings and sabotaged pipelines, briefly forcing a cutoff of nearly half of Bolivia's natural gas exports to Brazil.

The most serious challenge yet to Morales' presidency is being spurred by governors of Bolivia's autonomy-seeking lowland provinces, home to the nation's energy deposits and best farmland.

"I've come here to explain to the presidents of South America" that these governors have attempted a coup, Morales said. He accused them of "inciting crimes against humanity by groups massacring the poorest of my country."

Bolivia's chief prosecutor, Mario Uribe, said he would charge Gov. Leopoldo Fernandez and other top officials in Pando, the jungle province on the Brazilian border where 30 people were killed in political violence last week, with genocide for provoking "a bloody massacre."

Many of the anti-Morales blockades were dismantled over the weekend in a goodwill gesture as both sides sought to establish ground rules for negotiations. And while Bolivia was generally quiet Monday, more than 1,000 government supporters marched on the U.S. Embassy in the capital of La Paz, burning an American flag and effigies of opposition governors. Some 5,000 Bolivian migrants marched in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well, in support of the Morales government.

In Pando, authorities arrested 10 people allegedly involved in Thursday's reported ambush, the government news agency ABI reported.

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