page_title: Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia)
section_title: Calls for autonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia) / Calls for autonomy
caption_attribution_description: English: Altar in the church of San Rafael de Velasco, Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Part of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos World Heritage Site.
context_page_description: Santa Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², slightly smaller than Japan or the US State of Montana, it is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia occupying about one-third of the territory of the country. It is located in the eastern part of the country, sharing borders in the north and east with Brazil and with Paraguay in the south.
  In the 2012 census, it reported a population of 3,412,921, making it the most populated department. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The department is one of the wealthiest departments in Bolivia, with huge reserves of natural gas. Besides, it has experienced the highest increase of economic growth during the last 50 years in Bolivia and South America.
context_section_description: During the later stages of the Chaco war between Paraguay and Bolivia, as the Paraguayan army approached Santa Cruz department, local nationalists backed by a Paraguay-based independence movement sought to create a separate independent state in Santa Cruz department.
  A referendum on autonomy was held in Santa Cruz department in 2008. Eastern departments in Bolivia, including Santa Cruz, have majority of the natural gas reserves. Bolivian president Evo Morales was planning to introduce legislation to tackle the poverty in the country using tax revenues from richer departments like Santa Cruz. Additionally, Morales's attempts to change the constitution were opposed by the opposition governors who run five of Bolivia's nine regions. 85.6 percent voted in favour of autonomy. The Bolivian government considered the referendum illegal.
caption: Altar in the church of San Rafael de Velasco, Santa Cruz.
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