Santiago - Bolivian President Evo Morales on Monday in Santiago de Chile alleged that governors of restive regions attempted to topple his government.

He arrived Monday in the Chilean capital to attend a summit of South American presidents, who were expected to discuss the Bolivian crisis.

Morales said that the attempted coup d'etat included "occupation of institutions, looting and robbery from state institutions, attempts to attack the national police and the armed forces, and terrorist actions."

He was set to update regional leaders on the situation in Bolivia. The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela were set to attend the meeting.

Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley anticipated that the emergency summit would call for setting up a forum for talks among the parties in Bolivia.

A long-running political standoff has escalated in recent months in Bolivia, with at least 16 people dead in an outbreak of violence last week.

The Bolivian opposition has regrouped around autonomy movements in five of the country's nine provinces.

The crisis centres on Morales' plans to hold a referendum in December on a new constitution, which is the centrepiece of his programme of distributing more of Bolivia's wealth to the impoverished, indigenous majority.

The opposition, concentrated in southern and eastern Bolivia, is demanding the return of taxes levied on oil and natural gas revenues, which are currently used to provide pensions for all Bolivians over age 60.

The government's opponents accused Morales, who was elected in 2005 as the country's first indigenous president, of carrying out discrimination in favour of indigenous people.

In August, Morales won two thirds of the vote to survive a recall referendum.

Bolivia's population of 10 million has a 60 per cent poverty rate, affecting mostly Indios. (dpa)