This week on CounterSpin: When voters in the Bolivian state of Santa Cruz voted on May 4th to declare an autonomy, U.S. media largely reported it as a democratic expression of the differences between a wealthy, conservative Bolivian state, and the socialist central government of president Evo Morales. But was the Santa Cruz vote legitimate? We'll talk with Ben Dangl, author of The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia.

Also on the show: Is John McCain an environmentalist? If you believe the press corps, he is. But our guest says that may say more about them than about the candidate. We'll hear from Kate Sheppard, political reporter at Grist.org.

Links:

— The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia, by Benjamin Dangl

— The Myth of Green McCain, by Kate Sheppard (American Prospect, 5/1/08)