Media Luna
Encyclopedia
Beni Department
Beni, sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second largest department in the country , covering 213,564 square kilometers , and it was created by supreme decree on November 18, 1842 during the administration of General José...
, Pando
Pando Department
Pando is a department of Bolivia, with an area of , adjoining the border with Brazil. Pando has a population 66,689 . Its capital is the city of Cobija....
, and Tarija
Tarija Department
Tarija is a department in Bolivia. It is located in south-eastern Bolivia bordering Argentina to the south and Paraguay to the east. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 391,226 inhabitants. It has an area of 37.623 km²...
– in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
which became the geographic area of opposition to the national government led by Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
and the Movement for Socialism
Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)
The Movement for Socialism-Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples , alternately referred to as "Movement Toward Socialism" or "Movement to Socialism", is a left-wing, socialist, Bolivian political organization led by Evo Morales, founded in 1995...
(MAS). The name comes from the general crescent shape made by the four departments. The term media luna was coined soon after the election of Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
to designate the mostly eastern-located departments that objected to the nationalization and redistribution of natural gas that is a major natural resource in the region and the policy of land reform that would be most vigorously enacted in those regions. The prefects of Santa Cruz, Beni
Beni Department
Beni, sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second largest department in the country , covering 213,564 square kilometers , and it was created by supreme decree on November 18, 1842 during the administration of General José...
, and Tarija
Tarija Department
Tarija is a department in Bolivia. It is located in south-eastern Bolivia bordering Argentina to the south and Paraguay to the east. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 391,226 inhabitants. It has an area of 37.623 km²...
elected in the December 2005 elections all hailed from Bolivian opposition parties. These governors formed the National Council for Democracy (CONALDE). In 2008, these departments were the major areas of violence between supporters of the national government and supporters of autonomy for the departments
2008 unrest in Bolivia
The 2008 unrest in Bolivia began with protests against President Evo Morales and calls for greater autonomy for the country's eastern departments. Demonstrators escalated the protests by seizing natural gas infrastructure and government buildings...
.
The list of media luna departments was extended by some observers to include the departments of Cochabamba
Cochabamba Department
Cochabamba is one of the nine component departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the "granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products due to Cochabamba's geographical position. It has an area of 55,631 km². Its population, in the 2007 census, was 1,750,000...
and Chuquisaca
Chuquisaca Department
Chuquisaca is a department of Bolivia located in the center south. It borders on the departments of Cochabamba, Tarija, Potosí, and Santa Cruz. The departmental capital is Sucre, which is also the constitutional capital of Bolivia.-Geography:...
in 2007 and 2008. Cochabamba's prefect, Manfred Reyes Villa
Manfred Reyes Villa
Manfred Reyes Villa is a Bolivian politician, who was mayor of Cochabamba four times and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2002 and 2009 against Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and Evo Morales Ayma. He founded and led the Nueva Fuerza Republicana political party...
endorsed the other media luna governors' proposals for departmental autonomy. In June 2008, opposition member Savina Cuéllar
Savina Cuéllar
Savina Cuéllar is a Bolivian politician, currently serving as governor of the Department of Chuquisaca. She is of Quechua ancestry and one of the leading oppositionists to president Evo Morales....
was elected as Prefect of Chuquisaca
Chuquisaca Department
Chuquisaca is a department of Bolivia located in the center south. It borders on the departments of Cochabamba, Tarija, Potosí, and Santa Cruz. The departmental capital is Sucre, which is also the constitutional capital of Bolivia.-Geography:...
, marking a high point of opposition power. However in the 2008 recall referendum
Bolivian vote of confidence referendum, 2008
A vote of confidence in President Evo Morales in the form of a referendum was held in Bolivia on 10 August 2008. The vote was held to determine whether Morales, Vice President Álvaro García Linera, and eight out of nine departmental Prefects should stay in office. Morales received more than 67%...
, Reyes Villa was recalled. In Chuquisaca as well as Tarija, Morales enjoyed majority support in the 2008 referendum only in the rural areas, while the capital cities (Sucre
Sucre
Sucre, also known historically as Charcas, La Plata and Chuquisaca is the constitutional capital of Bolivia and the capital of the department of Chuquisaca. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of 2750m...
and Tarija
Tarija, Bolivia
Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is both the capital and largest city within the Tarija Department, with an airport offering regular service to primary Bolivian cities, as well as a regional bus terminal with domestic and...
respectively) had a majority for recalling Morales. Following the Porvenir Massacre
Porvenir Massacre
The Porvenir Massacre was a deadly ambush in the early hours of September 11, 2008, allegedly organized by Prefectural authorities of the Bolivian Department of Pando, as part of a civil coup d'état against the government of Evo Morales by members of the right-wing...
, Pando's opposition prefect Leopoldo Fernández
Leopoldo Fernández
Leopoldo Fernández Ferreira is a Bolivian politician. A member of Social and Democratic Power Fernández was Prefect of the northern Bolivian department of Pando from 2006 to 2008....
, who was arrested and detained for his suspected involvement in the massacre of at least 20 peasants, was replaced by an interim prefect from the military in September 2008.