The wealthiest province in Bolivia has voted "Yes" on a referendum which would allow it to declare itself autonomous from the rest of the nation, and other provinces may follow suit. Since leftist president Evo Morales assumed office in 2006, he has pursued an aggressive program aimed at improving the lot of Bolivia's poor and working classes. Much of his agenda has consisted of taking wealth from more affluent provinces and sharing it with poorer ones, and lately he has announced plans to take land from large landowners in order to give it to poor farmers. He was dealt a setback on Sunday, when Bolivia's wealthiest province, Santa Cruz, approved a referendum declaring itself autonomous in many ways from the central government. Basically, the autonomy is not a secession or declaration of independence, but it does allow Santa Cruz control over its land and industries. In other words, it will not allow Morales and the central government to carve up large, profitable farms to be given away. Morales is claiming that the referendum is invalid, but this sort of stall tactic will only buy him a little time in which to find a way to appease wealthy provinces and thus avoid the breakdown of the nation.