I agree. The real "regional" problem, I think, is that La Paz no longer dominates national politics. I think this insults many paceños to their very core. Remember the tiff when parliament considered holding session in Sucre, the official capital?

But. La Paz has the same population of voters as the entire "media luna" put together. I think you're right that differences in percentages are slight. But those percentages don't reflect even populations. And "media luna" leaders fear a gas referendum could come down to the wire, perhaps w/ a slight majority opposing exports (La Paz makes up 1/3 of the nation's voting popular voting block). The demand for a by-department vote makes sense, considering those fears.

I think it's too early to tell how this vote will go. Like you mentioned before, the wording is very important. The propaganda inevitably get out of hand, hopefully there will be a source for independent information. Looking forward to see how this will play out.

I agree. But my point's just that "media luna" fears aren't so unfounded, since the number of voters in La Paz (where support for gas exports is lowest) will over-determine the outcome.

Looking at your numbers again, they don't fully support your claims (in my opinion). The difference in support between La Paz & Santa Cruz is about 30%; it's about 40% between La Paz & Tarija. These are, actually, rather large differences. Even the 20% gap between La Paz and other altiplano/cordillera departments is significant.

Yes, La Paz was the exception. I was referring especially to Cochabamba, Oruro and Potosi, which are thrown into the Andean side of things. Potosi, which has a high concentration of indigenous, was only 5% behind Santa Cruz.