Bolivia seizes land and plans to return it to tribe

Friday, June 29, 2007  

The Bolivian government seized 64,250 acres from a prominent politician and said it would be returned to the Guarayo Tribe in Santa Cruz.

Vice Minister of Land Alejandro Almaraz said Branko Marinkovic, a soybean oil magnate, obtained the land illegally. Under a new land reform bill, that means it can be seized.

But Marinkovic said the move was purely political. He is an outspoken opponent of President Evo Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president.

Morales hopes to return up to 77,000 square miles -- about the size of Nebraska -- to tribes over the next five years.

Get the Story:
Bolivia Targets Opposition Leader's Land (AP 6/29)
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