Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz declared a 90-day state of emergency and sent army and police units into the streets as nationwide protests entered their seventh week. The move, announced Saturday in a televised morning address, came after Congress recently changed the law to allow him to impose emergency rule. Paz said the road blockades were no longer a social protest but an organized attempt to undermine democracy, adding, “The time has come when avoiding action is no longer prudence, but irresponsibility.” He warned that those who keep disrupting daily life will face legal consequences.
Security forces used trucks, armored police and bulldozers to clear barriers built from rocks, logs and debris, especially in El Alto. Officials said parts of daily life were beginning to normalize, while the emergency also limits the right to protest and expands military deployment inside the country. The unrest, led by unions, Indigenous groups and coca growers, has cut off major roads, caused shortages of fuel, food and medicine in La Paz and El Alto, and inflicted billions of dollars in damage. At least 14 people have been killed, including people who were trapped behind blockades and could not reach hospitals in time.
Some residents welcomed the reopening of roads, including 65-year-old Elvira de Mamani, who told Reuters that people had suffered and that it was good the roads were opening. Others stood with the protesters, saying they had a right to fight for their livelihoods and food supplies. Paz said Bolivians could not remain hostage to roadblocks that prevent them from working, studying, getting medical care and bringing food home, and he said the emergency is meant to restore normality, not undermine it.
The crisis stems from protests against Paz’s liberal economic reforms, his move to cut fuel subsidies to reduce the deficit, and shortages of dollars and fuel. Though he later stabilized fuel prices, dropped unpopular land reforms and reached an agreement Friday with the main labor federation to avoid privatization and keep talking, some Indigenous groups said they would continue the fight and more than 40 roadblocks remained. Paz also accused former president Evo Morales and what he called “narco-terrorists” of backing the blockades, while his government is preparing a possible operation to arrest Morales, who faces accusations of trafficking a minor that he denies. The United States backed Paz’s decision, and his rivals are also attacking him over his renewed ties with Israel, including restoring diplomatic relations in 2025.
