Four Bolivian provinces challenge president

? With only scattered skirmishes reported, four provinces in this country’s eastern lowlands celebrated proposals Saturday that would give their regions more government autonomy in a direct challenge to President Evo Morales.

By early Saturday night, Bolivian television reported that Morales supporters and detractors had clashed in the town of Santa Rosa, injuring more than 20 people. An explosive had detonated in a federal superior court office in the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra without hurting anyone. Both are located in the heavily anti-Morales Santa Cruz province, Bolivia’s richest and second biggest.

Many in this 9.1 million-person country had feared greater violence as Morales and opposition governors from eastern Bolivia championed dueling government reforms in mass rallies Saturday. The governors’ quest for greater autonomy follows passage of a constitution last week giving Morales more centralized control.