Date set for Bolivian recall vote: disruption expected

In a rare instance of political accord, President Evo Morales and his critics have agreed to support a recall election for Morales and all eight sitting state governors, report Oscar Ordoñez and Patrick J. McDonnell from La Paz.

The referendum, scheduled for Aug. 10, will mark the third national vote in less than three years in this deeply divided Andean nation of 9 million. "Morales and his opponents, including some of the governors, are gambling that the vote will bloody their respective foes. But few experts view the election as likely to oust the leftist Morales, a vocal U.S. critic, or temper the country's political polarization," The Times reports.

Meanwhile, a McClatchy News Service story quotes political scientist Fernando Mayorga, who believes that the recall referendum could usher in possibly violent electoral campaigns for and against Morales and the governors.

''The campaign against Evo Morales, in particular, will raise the likelihood of conflicts between followers of the government and opposition,'' Mayorga said. "What we need is a political agreement to bring the autonomy statutes and the constitution together in one document.''