Violent clashes at polling places killed one man and wounded dozens of others on Sunday in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Despite the violence and government attempts to stifle the vote, the referendum passed with over 80% of the vote.

Following in the footsteps of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Bolivian President Evo Morales took control of three foreign oil firms operating inside the country. The coca farmer-cum-presidente issued a sweeping decree this morning, nationalizing Adina, a subsidiary of Repsol YPF, Chaco and Panamerican Energy, a subsidary of British Petroleum, as well oil transportation companies belonging to Shell.

Traditionally, carnaval is a period for people of the Catholic faith to let their hair down and enjoy the vices they are going to be giving up for the 40 days of Lent. Nowadays the religious roots of carnaval are arguably taking more of a back seat, meaning that carnaval typically extends well into the Lenten period. It is not uncommon for festivities to take place throughout the first three months of each new year. See carnaval celebrations in Argentina, Brazil and Boliva for the complete experience.

A looming energy crisis has Boliva, Argentina and Brazil in negotiations.
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Bolivia experiences massive floods leaving 48,000 homeless and officials fearing that their provincial [...]