Bolivia's Morales faces biggest test

Political leaders in wealthy regions, long alienated from his Andes power base, are pushing for more autonomy.

By Patrick J. McDonnell, Times Staff Writer

December 25, 2006

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA — Not yet a year in office, President Evo Morales can boast of some major accomplishments. He has nationalized the country's oil and gas industry, overseen sweeping agrarian reform and convened an assembly to rewrite the constitution.

Polls show the former llama herder and coca-leaf farmer is maintaining a positive rating of more than 60% in opinion polls, even as Bolivia has lurched from one political crisis to another.