Buenos Aires/La Paz  - Broad support for a new constitution signalled another impressive victory for Bolivia's left-wing populist President Evo Morales, who was celebrating even before the official results were in.

The new text was approved by 60 per cent of voters in a referendum Sunday, according to exit polls made public by Bolivian media.

The president celebrated the unofficial victory and hailed it as a "new founding" of the poor Andean country, with equal opportunities for all citizens.

"Here ends the colonial state," he told supporters.

Things are unlikely to be quite that easy, with a wave of anger expected from Morales' right-wing opposition - mainly supported by wealthier Bolivians of European descent.

The proposed constitution gives more rights to Bolivia's indigenous majority, which has been discriminated against for centuries, and grants the state greater control over the economy.

It reportedly got more than 60 per cent of the votes, but only at the national level. In four of nine wealthiest provinces the story was quite different: In Santa Cruz 72 per cent of the voters opposed the text, with 66 per cent in Tarija saying "no," 65 per cent in Pando and 63 per cent in Beni.

Morales can continue to count on the country's poor majority, which demands to be finally granted equal rights.

However, as has happened many times in the past, the traditional, mainly white elite are unlikely to be convinced of the advantages of the president's radical political moves. They comprise about 15 per cent of the population and fear a redistribution of wealth or an outright expropriation of their assets.

Morales, the first president of indigenous descent in Bolivian history - elected in 2005, is well aware of the conflicts that lie ahead.

During his first three years in office, he provoked the anger of Bolivia's elite with the nationalization of key industries, especially natural gas and oil. And the already passed, but not yet implemented, legislation to redistribute land to poor farmers has widened the rift.

"The government will enforce (the referendum result) despite the violent law-breakers. Let them respect the will of the people," Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera said Sunday.

Even before the referendum, Santa Cruz Governor Ruben Costas was sure that the new constitution would pass, but predicted a dark future when it came to implementing it.

"If they want to implement this blood-stained constitution, they need to get 80 per cent (of the vote). Less will be unacceptable and we will fight for there to be no change in Bolivia," he warned.

Last year the opposition showed the extent it would go to in resisting change, with scores being killed in clashes between pro- and anti-government supporters.

Branko Marinkoovic, an opposition leader in Santa Cruz, called for a national agreement to overcome Bolivia's problems, while others demanded that the new constitution should not be respected.

The new constitution also separates the state and the Roman Catholic church and does not rule out the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage - additional elements that have upset the upper classes.

At a personal level, many wealthy Bolivians have expressed fears of losing their social status and complained that Morales wants to create an undemocratic government, which seeks to establish a socialist dictatorship.

The referendum has one again exposed deep divisions in Bolivian society and could leave the country dangerously polarized. To move forward peacefully, Morales will have to juggle the great expectations of his supporters with the fears of his opponents. (dpa)