West vs. East

The BBC reports on a brewing conflict among Peru's neighbors to the east. Wealthy Bolivians who oppose the country's populist president Evo Morales wish to move the government's executive and legislative branches from La Paz, in the western highlands, (back) to Sucre, in central Bolivia. closer to the rich eastern provinces. The conflict's got history behind it (Sucre lost its exclusive claim to the capital in a civil war with La Paz in 1899) and is framed by a class struggle that has polarized Bolivia's political camps.

The story reads in full below; any and all updates or clarifications are welcome:

Hundreds of thousands of people have been taking part in what is being described as the biggest ever protest in Bolivia's main city, La Paz.

They are angered by a proposal to transfer the executive and legislative branches of government to Sucre.

Sucre served as the sole capital until 1899. Since then, the two cities have shared the title.

The latest proposal was put forward by opponents of the country's President, Evo Morales.

They have been seeking greater autonomy for the wealthier eastern provinces, as part of the ongoing rewriting of the Bolivian constitution.

Regional rivalry

They argue that Sucre, which is in the centre of the country and is the seat of the country's judicial branch of government, is better placed to serve as a capital than La Paz, which is on the western edge of Bolivia.

But those in favour of La Paz say switching the capital from Bolivia's largest city, with a population of 1.7 million, to Sucre, population 250,000, would be expensive and divisive.

Sucre was the site of Bolivia's founding in 1825 and its sole capital until losing a brief civil war to La Paz in 1899.

Its demand for the return of the seat of government has fuelled a regional rivalry between President Morales' supporters in Bolivia's poor western highlands and his opponents in the more prosperous east.