UPDATE 2-Bolivian president, rivals to face recall vote

(Recasts, adds details, background)

By Carlos Quiroga

LA PAZ, May 12 (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales agreed on Monday to face a recall vote in August, hoping to shore up public support for leftist reforms bitterly opposed by his powerful conservative opponents.

The Aug. 10 nationwide vote will coincide with regional balloting to decide whether Bolivia's nine regional governors remain in office. Morales' fiercest challenge comes from governors in four eastern regions that want greater autonomy from the central government.

"For the first time in Bolivian history, the people will not only have the right to choose, but also to decide if the authorities are failing to serve them," Morales said.

The recall vote, approved by the Senate last week, is a risky strategy by the Bolivian leader to gain the upper hand in a protracted political battle with his conservative rivals.

Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous leader and a former coca farmer, proposed the recall vote four months ago as a way to challenge the rightist governors of eastern, energy-rich regions pushing for autonomy.

He has upset opponents by nationalizing the energy industry, allying himself with Venezuela's left-wing President Hugo Chavez, and pushing for constitutional reforms that would give greater power to Bolivia's poor, indigenous majority.

Like Morales, his critics hope the recall vote will boost their position in the power struggle.

"Both sides want to use the recall as a springboard ... It's a dangerous game that could take us to greater conflict," said Franklin Pareja, a politics professor at the state-run San Andres University.

"Instead of seeking agreements, the ruling party and the opposition are complicating everything and passing the responsibility to the voters," he said.

CONFRONTATION

The vote will ask Bolivians whether Morales should remain in power. He would be forced to call early elections if the number of "no" votes both exceeds the nearly 54 percent and the number of votes he won when he was elected in December 2005.

The same rules will apply to the regional governors, who won office with a range of support from 38 to 48 percent.

Opinion polls put Morales' popularity at around 54 percent, but it has flagged slightly in recent months due to the increasingly tense confrontation between his government and a rightist opposition that is closely linked with a landowning European-descended elite based in the east.

Bolivia's largest and richest region, Santa Cruz, voted overwhelmingly in favor of autonomy on May 4 and three other eastern regions plan similar votes before July.

Morales' pro-Indian and leftist reforms are popular in western Andean areas, where indigenous people like him make up the majority of Bolivia's population of around 9 million, exposing an East-West divide in the country.

Bolivian political analysts say Morales needs the support of middle-class voters, some of whom are disenchanted with his reforms, for a strong showing in the recall vote. (Additional reporting and writing by Eduardo Garcia; Editing by Kevin Gray and Kieran Murray)