Leopoldo Fernández

Who is Leopoldo Fernández?

Leopoldo Fernández Ferreira is a Bolivian politician. A member of Social and Democratic Power Fernández was Prefect of the northern Bolivian department of Pando from 2006 to 2008.

Fernández was the first elected Prefect of Pando, an office which had previously been appointed by the President. He won the elections of December 2005. Fernández survived the August 2008 vote of confidence referendum, though he had over 14,000 votes against his governorship.

Fernández's government strongly backed autonomy for the department, in alliance with other governors of the eastern "media luna" provinces Santa Cruz, Beni, Tarija. Nationwide referenda on autonomy held on July 2, 2006, were approved in all four departments. A second referendum to approve a statute of autonomy was held by each department in mid-2008, despite being declared illegal by the National Electoral Court in March. Left-wing and pro-Morales social movements boycotted the votes. Pando's referendum, held on June 1, 2008, won 82% approval among those who voted, but 46.5% of the registered electorate did vote, the highest abstention rate in the four departments holding such referenda.