Thousands of women, primarily Indigenous, took to the streets of La Paz on Wednesday — Bolivia’s Mother’s Day — dressed in black to mourn those killed in the past weeks of unrest and demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz.

They threatened to not allow their military-aged sons to be used against their fellow protesters. 

“We demand the withdrawal of our sons who are performing their military service, because we have sent them to serve their country, not to kill their fathers, mothers, brothers, uncles, and grandparents,” stated a communiqué from the protesting women, who were convened and represented by organizations such as the Bartolina Sisa confederation, the primary union organization of peasant women in Bolivia. 

If their sons were called by the state to repress the protests, they said, they would encourage them to return home and join the popular struggle.

The mobilization comes after Congress voted on Tuesday to scrap a 2020 State of Exception Law, which placed parameters on the president’s powers to declare a state of emergency and deploy military force against protests without legislative approval, effectively clearing the way for martial law and curbing protesters’ liberty of assembly and protest.

Read more: Bolivia between democracy and social conflicts

“I have constitutional instruments. Time is running out. I have to respond, I have to come up with solutions,” Paz told journalists, defending the decision.

Opposition lawmaker Sonia Siñani warned against the repeal, predicting that the action would be like “pouring gasoline on the fire.”

The protests, now entering their fourth week, have prompted criticism from residents of La Paz and El Alto, who say they are causing severe roadblocks and shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. 

Business groups have estimated that the blockades are draining more than $50 million a day from the economy.
At least four people have died and over dozens injured in the unrest, and more violence and human rights violations seem imminent now that the legal constraints on the executive have been effectively rendered null.

Featured image: Bolivian mothers protesting on May 27, Mother’s Day in Bolivia.

Image credit: Myriam Bregman via X.

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La Paz, Bolivia – For three weeks, Bolivia has been paralyzed by the largest wave of social unrest since President Rodrigo Paz took office in November. The Bolivian Highway Administration has reported dozens of road blockade points across the country, severing key arteries to the Peruvian and Chilean borders, Sucre, Oruro, Potosí, and Santa Cruz. There are severe food and diesel shortages in La Paz, with inflation rising fast, and hospitals being pushed to the brink due to lack of medical supplies. 

The protesters, in the tens of thousands, include members of the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) trade union, rural teachers’ unions, mining cooperatives, coca growers’ federations, and indigenous communities from the Amazon who walked hundreds of kilometres to reach La Paz. They also include the Red Ponchos — a radical Aymara militia and social movement for indigenous rights most active in the high plains (Altiplano), gaining prominence in the 2003 Gas War. They are known for using direct action, such as blockades and clashes with state forces.

What are the root causes of the unrest? 

The crisis did not appear from nowhere. Recurring fuel shortages – the same chronic problem that had contributed to the collapse of the socialist Arce government – returned to rattle an already fragile economy, along with sweeping economic cuts, including to fuel and food subsidies. 

But the larger trigger was Law 17-20, a measure that would authorize reforms to indigenous land tenure arrangements, which many communities interpreted as opening the door to the privatization of communal lands.

Many of the protesters themselves voted for President Paz, and the regions most affected: La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba, are the same ones that delivered him his electoral majority. 

“We voted for change, for Capitalism for All, but we’re in the same place as before, only maybe worse,” one protester named Patricia told Latin America Reports in El Alto. 

“They made promises to us, about social rights and economic progress, and then acted like they forgot we existed,” said Fernando, a member of a Cochabamba peasant federation told Latin America Reports. 

Graffiti quote inscribed by protesters reading, “May there be no peace for the oligarchies, if there is no bread for the majority.” Image credit: Joseph Bouchard

They have multiple grievances, including a cabinet with little meaningful indigenous, female or movement representation, the absence of consultation with social organizations on major legislative decisions, cuts to fuel subsidies and social services whose effects have been felt immediately in communities already stretched thin by years of economic crisis, and a failure to address the structural commercial and energy crises that preceded Paz’s election. 

On a more structural level, many syndicalist and indigeneist movements that had long been associated with the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) made a deliberate and politically costly decision to back Paz over former socialist president Evo Morales’s old party last year. They feel that they have been betrayed, and left out. 

Protesters lined up by the Plaza San Francisco in downtown La Paz. Image credit: Joseph Bouchard

The government’s response 

For its part, the Paz government has pursued a strategy of selective negotiation combined with escalating pressure on those who refuse to leave the streets. It has reached agreements with certain teachers’ unions and regional COB affiliates, and issued decrees guaranteeing healthcare, education, and other rights to indigenous communities. 

Some factions have accepted these terms, though others have accused them of capitulating, or being co-opted by the government. One leader of the COB argued from La Paz, “They are doing the same strategy as the MAS under the previous regime, they are co-opting social movements to delegitimize our demands and our concerns, and paint us as insubordinate and ungrateful.” 

Paz has promised a cabinet reshuffle, along with an economic social council, in an attempt to “listen to the people” and provide further representation for aggrieved social sectors.

The Paz government has deployed thousands of police in La Paz and El Alto to resist and dismantle blockades, using tear gas, riot gear, and rubber bullets, apprehending at least 100 according to the People’s Ombudsman, including journalists. Three have died so far, with many more injured.

Senior officials, including cabinet members, have publicly accused blockade leaders of being financed by Evo Morales and linked to drug trafficking and terrorism. 

Paz himself has referred to those still demonstrating in the streets as “vandals,” and the state security apparatus has warned it will use “progressive and proportional force” — with persistent rumours, denied by the government, of authorization for live ammunition. 

Human rights organizations and the COB leadership have denounced the targeting of union leaders and the harassment of the press and activists. Former president Evo Morales has alleged that the Paz government, in coordination with the DEA and US Southern Command, is planning an operation to detain or kill him. 

Protesters wait to join the frontlines as tear gas accumulates near the Plurinational Assembly. Image Credit: Joseph Bouchard

The impact on Paz’s presidency 

The crisis is exposing deep tensions within Paz’s own Christian Democratic Party (PDC) big tent coalition, which brought together an ideologically eclectic mix of figures — from indigeneist currents previously aligned with the MAS, and populist actors, to more conventionally conservative actors such as former president Tuto Quiroga, multimillionaire former minister Samuel Doria Medina, and prominent figures in right-wing stronghold Santa Cruz. That coalition is straining.

Vice President Edmand Lara, a populist anti-corruption figure and former police officer whom social movements had embraced and whose support is widely credited with being decisive in Paz’s election victory, has issued multiple statements breaking with the president’s handling of the crisis. 

Lara condemned the use of chemical agents against elderly people, pregnant women, and children, called on security forces to respect proportionality protocols, denounced the intimidation of journalists, and invited the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to monitor the situation. Political analysts in La Paz are openly speculating that Lara is positioning himself as the social movements’ candidate for the presidency, should Paz’s government fall. 

On the more conservative flank, Paz’s allies are urging a harder line. Proposals include a state of emergency, tighter control of what they characterize as violent paid agitators, and continued carrot-and-stick approaches to willing and unwilling sectors. Which tendency wins the internal argument will likely define the character of the Paz government going forward, if it can survive it. 

Protesters retreat as tear gas descends into commercial streets in downtown La Paz. Image credit: Joseph Bouchard

International response to the protests 

Internationally, the crisis has also created further divisions. Leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in a series of posts on social media, described the protests as “a popular insurrection” against “geopolitical arrogance” and declared that “Bolivia stands at the forefront of the struggle for Latin American dignity.” He also offered Colombian mediation for the crisis. 

Bolivia’s foreign minister, Fernando Aramayo, responded by expelling Colombia’s ambassador, Elizabeth García, declaring her persona non grata for what he called “insistent public declarations of interference in Bolivia’s internal affairs.” Paz called it an “attack on democracy.”

Read more: Bolivia dismisses Colombia ambassador after Petro comments

The conservative bloc in Latin America has lined up firmly behind Paz. Among others, El Salvador, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and the United States have characterized the protests as destabilizing and linked them to drug trafficking. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the unrest as a “coup attempt,” adding that “we will not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected governments,” which protesters say are racist echoes of the country’s long history with the war on drugs and U.S. intervention. 

Argentina, meanwhile, reportedly sent military aircraft, officially carrying food and medicine, that are alleged by protest groups to also contain tear gas and crowd-control equipment, a charge Buenos Aires has denied. The OAS Security Council has convened an emergency session on Bolivia.

Demands from protesters 

The protesters’ demands range from specific sectoral issues, like better conditions for teachers, guaranteed rights for indigenous communities, to more sweeping demands including Paz’s resignation and, for Evo Morales, fresh democratic elections within 90 days. Evo Morales, the COB, and Red Ponchos have stated they will not stop fighting. 

The unfolding unrest is becoming a sharp test for Paz, and Bolivia’s democracy. Based on Bolivia’s history, the social movements in the streets, as they are acutely aware, have brought down governments before, and are in no hurry to leave. For now, the blockades continue in Bolivia.

Featured Image: Red Ponchos throw stones at functionaries and police at the Judiciary building in La Paz.

Image credit: Joseph Bouchard

The post Bolivia between democracy and social conflicts appeared first on Latin America Reports.

Bogotá, Colombia – Protesters clashed with security forces in Bolivia’s capital La Paz on Monday as tensions over the country’s dire economic situation boiled over.

After marching toward the capital for 6 days, demonstrators, many wearing miner’s protective helmets, tore down barricades and hurled projectiles while police dispersed crowds with tear gas.

By Monday night, peace was restored to the streets of La Paz with reports of more than 100 protestors arrested, while the government remains in power.

The conflict in the capital followed two weeks of protests against fuel shortages and inflation, among other concerns.

The unrest began with a miners’ strike but has widened to include teachers, farmers and Indigenous groups, many of whom are calling for the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz less than seven months since his inauguration.

At the root of the conflict is the decision by President Paz in late 2025 to eliminate fuel subsidies that many rural communities in Bolivia have relied upon for two decades, but which had drained the country’s international dollar reserves.

Protestors have a variety of grievances, but all center on concerns around the country’s economic direction. The Andean nation is suffering a deep economic crisis, and while inflation has come down steadily from a high of almost 25% in July 2025, it remains over 14%.

Disgruntled citizens have blocked 32 highways, choking the country’s road network and leading to shortages of supplies of food and medicine. The Argentine government sent emergency supplies by air at Bolivia’s request.

The combination of fuel shortages, increased prices and austerity measures, which Paz says are needed to ensure fiscal stability, have caused deep division in Bolivian society and within its government.

Vice-president Edmand Lara has accused the president of not fulfilling campaign promises.

Meanwhile, President Paz has criticized protesters saying, “There is no reason to attack innocent people.”

Ex-President Evo Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, defended the protestors on X, writing: “That the people exercise their right to freedom of expression and protest is not an assault on democracy. An assault is to criminalize that right with false accusations, violent infiltrators, bonuses to repressors, division of organizations with perks, and dirty media campaigns.”

Economy Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza dismissed the protesters as “political operatives seeking to serve as a stepping stone” for Morales to return to power.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro also weighed in on X, declaring that, “Bolivia is experiencing a popular insurrection. It is the response to geopolitical arrogance.”

Paz was elected on a promise to end the costly fuel subsidies, comfortably defeating the far-right candidate, Jorge Quiroga in a run-off.

Nevertheless, the policy has been a major cause of unrest. The country’s largest labor federation, Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), declared a general strike last November.

Yesterday, an arrest warrant was issued for Mario Argollo, the secretary-general of the COB, charging him with terrorism and inciting crime for his role in the blockades.

Featured image description: President Rodrigo Paz speaks

Featured image credit: Pavel Špindler via Wikimedia Commons

The post Demonstrators clash with police in Bolivia as protests widen appeared first on Latin America Reports.

Bolivian Judge Carlos Oblitas declared former president Evo Morales (2006-2019) in contempt of court on Monday for failing to appear before the Tarija court where he is being tried for human trafficking, specifically for allegedly impregnating a 15-year-old girl while he was president. The court order includes an arrest warrant and a travel ban, as reported to the press by Supreme Court Justice Grover Mita. Morales’ legal team had already announced last week that their client would not appear, considering the case a “political persecution” and alleging irregularities in the criminal proceedings.

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There is an old propaganda poster advertising Evo Morales’ third-term program: “Bolivia will be the energy heart of South America. Bolivia will have energy sovereignty. We will export energy to neighboring countries and become a regional leader.” The former president began that term in 2015 backed by an overwhelming electoral victory of more than 60%. The support reflected the economic stability the country had enjoyed since his first term in 2006, sustained mainly by natural gas exports, which in 2014 alone reached $6.1 billion. International reserves became the highest in South America relative to GDP. But behind the scenes, the picture was different. Reserve certifications did not match the extravagant figures that had been proclaimed, and oil companies had neglected exploration of new fields.

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Bogotá, Colombia – Bolivia’s government ordered Colombia’s ambassador to leave the country just days after Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed support for ongoing anti-government protests.

“The Bolivian government has decided to request that the Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia accredited to the country conclude her diplomatic duties in Bolivian territory,” read a statement on Wednesday morning by Bolivia’s Ministry of Foreign Relations.

The ministry expressed its disapproval of Colombia’s involvement in its domestic affairs amid mounting anti-government protests.

“Bolivia considers it essential that any external assessment or statement regarding the country’s internal situation be made with responsibility, diplomatic prudence, and full respect for… institutions,” continued the statement.

While the government did not explicitly mention Petro, the measure came just days after the Colombian president weighed in on the protest movement, describing it as a “popular insurrection” in an X post last Sunday.

In recent weeks, miners, teachers, farmers and Indigenous groups have been calling for President Rodrigo Paz to resign over economic hardships, including soaring inflation and the suspension of fuel subsidies.

Bolivia’s foreign ministry responded to Petro the same day, saying his words, “do not reflect the relation of friendship, respect and cooperation between the peoples of Bolivia and Colombia.”

Petro, whose term ends in August, did not backtrack following the Ambassador’s dismissal.

“If they expel the ambassador simply for proposing dialogue ​and mediation, it means we’re sliding toward extremism that could lead ​to a very difficult situation for the Bolivian people,” the president told Caracol radio today.

Despite the spat, Bolivia’s foreign ministry said diplomatic channels remained open and the expulsion did not count as a full-scale rupture in relations.

The government added that it had granted Ambassador Elizabeth García Carrillo “the appropriate period of time in accordance with current international standards” to leave the country.

Featured image description: President Gustavo Petro (L) and President Rodrigo Paz (R). I

Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons

The post Bolivia dismisses Colombia ambassador after Petro comments appeared first on Latin America Reports.

La Paz, Bolivia – For three weeks, Bolivia has been paralyzed by the largest wave of social unrest since President Rodrigo Paz took office in November. The Bolivian Highway Administration has reported dozens of road blockade points across the country, severing key arteries to the Peruvian and Chilean borders, Sucre, Oruro, Potosí, and Santa Cruz. There are severe food and diesel shortages in La Paz, with inflation rising fast, and hospitals being pushed to the brink due to lack of medical supplies. 

The protesters, in the tens of thousands, include members of the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) trade union, rural teachers’ unions, mining cooperatives, coca growers’ federations, and indigenous communities from the Amazon who walked hundreds of kilometres to reach La Paz. They also include the Red Ponchos — a radical Aymara militia and social movement for indigenous rights most active in the high plains (Altiplano), gaining prominence in the 2003 Gas War. They are known for using direct action, such as blockades and clashes with state forces.

What are the root causes of the unrest? 

The crisis did not appear from nowhere. Recurring fuel shortages – the same chronic problem that had contributed to the collapse of the socialist Arce government – returned to rattle an already fragile economy, along with sweeping economic cuts, including to fuel and food subsidies. 

But the larger trigger was Law 17-20, a measure that would authorize reforms to indigenous land tenure arrangements, which many communities interpreted as opening the door to the privatization of communal lands.

Many of the protesters themselves voted for President Paz, and the regions most affected: La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba, are the same ones that delivered him his electoral majority. 

“We voted for change, for Capitalism for All, but we’re in the same place as before, only maybe worse,” one protester named Patricia told Latin America Reports in El Alto. 

“They made promises to us, about social rights and economic progress, and then acted like they forgot we existed,” said Fernando, a member of a Cochabamba peasant federation told Latin America Reports. 

Graffiti quote inscribed by protesters reading, “May there be no peace for the oligarchies, if there is no bread for the majority.” Image credit: Joseph Bouchard

They have multiple grievances, including a cabinet with little meaningful indigenous, female or movement representation, the absence of consultation with social organizations on major legislative decisions, cuts to fuel subsidies and social services whose effects have been felt immediately in communities already stretched thin by years of economic crisis, and a failure to address the structural commercial and energy crises that preceded Paz’s election. 

On a more structural level, many syndicalist and indigeneist movements that had long been associated with the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) made a deliberate and politically costly decision to back Paz over former socialist president Evo Morales’s old party last year. They feel that they have been betrayed, and left out. 

Protesters lined up by the Plaza San Francisco in downtown La Paz. Image credit: Joseph Bouchard

The government’s response 

For its part, the Paz government has pursued a strategy of selective negotiation combined with escalating pressure on those who refuse to leave the streets. It has reached agreements with certain teachers’ unions and regional COB affiliates, and issued decrees guaranteeing healthcare, education, and other rights to indigenous communities. 

Some factions have accepted these terms, though others have accused them of capitulating, or being co-opted by the government. One leader of the COB argued from La Paz, “They are doing the same strategy as the MAS under the previous regime, they are co-opting social movements to delegitimize our demands and our concerns, and paint us as insubordinate and ungrateful.” 

Paz has promised a cabinet reshuffle, along with an economic social council, in an attempt to “listen to the people” and provide further representation for aggrieved social sectors.

The Paz government has deployed thousands of police in La Paz and El Alto to resist and dismantle blockades, using tear gas, riot gear, and rubber bullets, apprehending at least 100 according to the People’s Ombudsman, including journalists. Three have died so far, with many more injured.

Senior officials, including cabinet members, have publicly accused blockade leaders of being financed by Evo Morales and linked to drug trafficking and terrorism. 

Paz himself has referred to those still demonstrating in the streets as “vandals,” and the state security apparatus has warned it will use “progressive and proportional force” — with persistent rumours, denied by the government, of authorization for live ammunition. 

Human rights organizations and the COB leadership have denounced the targeting of union leaders and the harassment of the press and activists. Former president Evo Morales has alleged that the Paz government, in coordination with the DEA and US Southern Command, is planning an operation to detain or kill him. 

Protesters wait to join the frontlines as tear gas accumulates near the Plurinational Assembly. Image Credit: Joseph Bouchard

The impact on Paz’s presidency 

The crisis is exposing deep tensions within Paz’s own Christian Democratic Party (PDC) big tent coalition, which brought together an ideologically eclectic mix of figures — from indigeneist currents previously aligned with the MAS, and populist actors, to more conventionally conservative actors such as former president Tuto Quiroga, multimillionaire former minister Samuel Doria Medina, and prominent figures in right-wing stronghold Santa Cruz. That coalition is straining.

Vice President Edmand Lara, a populist anti-corruption figure and former police officer whom social movements had embraced and whose support is widely credited with being decisive in Paz’s election victory, has issued multiple statements breaking with the president’s handling of the crisis. 

Lara condemned the use of chemical agents against elderly people, pregnant women, and children, called on security forces to respect proportionality protocols, denounced the intimidation of journalists, and invited the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to monitor the situation. Political analysts in La Paz are openly speculating that Lara is positioning himself as the social movements’ candidate for the presidency, should Paz’s government fall. 

On the more conservative flank, Paz’s allies are urging a harder line. Proposals include a state of emergency, tighter control of what they characterize as violent paid agitators, and continued carrot-and-stick approaches to willing and unwilling sectors. Which tendency wins the internal argument will likely define the character of the Paz government going forward, if it can survive it. 

Protesters retreat as tear gas descends into commercial streets in downtown La Paz. Image credit: Joseph Bouchard

International response to the protests 

Internationally, the crisis has also created further divisions. Leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in a series of posts on social media, described the protests as “a popular insurrection” against “geopolitical arrogance” and declared that “Bolivia stands at the forefront of the struggle for Latin American dignity.” He also offered Colombian mediation for the crisis. 

Bolivia’s foreign minister, Fernando Aramayo, responded by expelling Colombia’s ambassador, Elizabeth García, declaring her persona non grata for what he called “insistent public declarations of interference in Bolivia’s internal affairs.” Paz called it an “attack on democracy.”

Read more: Bolivia dismisses Colombia ambassador after Petro comments

The conservative bloc in Latin America has lined up firmly behind Paz. Among others, El Salvador, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and the United States have characterized the protests as destabilizing and linked them to drug trafficking. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the unrest as a “coup attempt,” adding that “we will not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected governments,” which protesters say are racist echoes of the country’s long history with the war on drugs and U.S. intervention. 

Argentina, meanwhile, reportedly sent military aircraft, officially carrying food and medicine, that are alleged by protest groups to also contain tear gas and crowd-control equipment, a charge Buenos Aires has denied. The OAS Security Council has convened an emergency session on Bolivia.

Demands from protesters 

The protesters’ demands range from specific sectoral issues, like better conditions for teachers, guaranteed rights for indigenous communities, to more sweeping demands including Paz’s resignation and, for Evo Morales, fresh democratic elections within 90 days. Evo Morales, the COB, and Red Ponchos have stated they will not stop fighting. 

The unfolding unrest is becoming a sharp test for Paz, and Bolivia’s democracy. Based on Bolivia’s history, the social movements in the streets, as they are acutely aware, have brought down governments before, and are in no hurry to leave. For now, the blockades continue in Bolivia.

Featured Image: Red Ponchos throw stones at functionaries and police at the Judiciary building in La Paz.

Image credit: Joseph Bouchard

The post Bolivia between democracy and social conflicts appeared first on Latin America Reports.

Bogotá, Colombia – Bolivia’s government ordered Colombia’s ambassador to leave the country just days after Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed support for ongoing anti-government protests.

“The Bolivian government has decided to request that the Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia accredited to the country conclude her diplomatic duties in Bolivian territory,” read a statement on Wednesday morning by Bolivia’s Ministry of Foreign Relations.

The ministry expressed its disapproval of Colombia’s involvement in its domestic affairs amid mounting anti-government protests.

“Bolivia considers it essential that any external assessment or statement regarding the country’s internal situation be made with responsibility, diplomatic prudence, and full respect for… institutions,” continued the statement.

While the government did not explicitly mention Petro, the measure came just days after the Colombian president weighed in on the protest movement, describing it as a “popular insurrection” in an X post last Sunday.

In recent weeks, miners, teachers, farmers and Indigenous groups have been calling for President Rodrigo Paz to resign over economic hardships, including soaring inflation and the suspension of fuel subsidies.

Bolivia’s foreign ministry responded to Petro the same day, saying his words, “do not reflect the relation of friendship, respect and cooperation between the peoples of Bolivia and Colombia.”

Petro, whose term ends in August, did not backtrack following the Ambassador’s dismissal.

“If they expel the ambassador simply for proposing dialogue ​and mediation, it means we’re sliding toward extremism that could lead ​to a very difficult situation for the Bolivian people,” the president told Caracol radio today.

Despite the spat, Bolivia’s foreign ministry said diplomatic channels remained open and the expulsion did not count as a full-scale rupture in relations.

The government added that it had granted Ambassador Elizabeth García Carrillo “the appropriate period of time in accordance with current international standards” to leave the country.

Featured image description: President Gustavo Petro (L) and President Rodrigo Paz (R). I

Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons

The post Bolivia dismisses Colombia ambassador after Petro comments appeared first on Latin America Reports.

Evo Morales, 66, is entrenched in the place where he built his political power: the Chapare province, Bolivia’s coca-growing region. There he cultivates avocados, farms fish, plays chess, runs and does sit-ups to stay in shape, all while closely monitoring the Indigenous uprising that has put Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on the ropes just six months after taking office.

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EL PAÍS launched an investigation into child sexual abuse by members of the Spanish Church in 2018 and maintains a database updated with all known cases. If you know of a case that has not come to light, you can write to: abusos@elpais.es. If it is a case in Latin America, the email address is: abusosamerica@elpais.es.

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Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz put two proposals on the table on Wednesday to soothe the country after weeks of protests and road blockades. He announced ministerial changes “to get closer to the people” and proposed forming a Social Economic Council that would include the mobilized actors and serve as a negotiating bridge between the state, productive sectors, and social movements. Hours earlier, his government told the Organization of American States (OAS) that the protests besieging La Paz, the city that hosts the seat of government, aim to “generate institutional destabilization.” Paz received shows of support. The strongest came from Washington, which warned it would not remain indifferent if street violence escalates. “We will not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected leaders in our hemisphere,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X on Wednesday.

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Bogotá, Colombia – Protesters clashed with security forces in Bolivia’s capital La Paz on Monday as tensions over the country’s dire economic situation boiled over.

After marching toward the capital for 6 days, demonstrators, many wearing miner’s protective helmets, tore down barricades and hurled projectiles while police dispersed crowds with tear gas.

By Monday night, peace was restored to the streets of La Paz with reports of more than 100 protestors arrested, while the government remains in power.

The conflict in the capital followed two weeks of protests against fuel shortages and inflation, among other concerns.

The unrest began with a miners’ strike but has widened to include teachers, farmers and Indigenous groups, many of whom are calling for the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz less than seven months since his inauguration.

At the root of the conflict is the decision by President Paz in late 2025 to eliminate fuel subsidies that many rural communities in Bolivia have relied upon for two decades, but which had drained the country’s international dollar reserves.

Protestors have a variety of grievances, but all center on concerns around the country’s economic direction. The Andean nation is suffering a deep economic crisis, and while inflation has come down steadily from a high of almost 25% in July 2025, it remains over 14%.

Disgruntled citizens have blocked 32 highways, choking the country’s road network and leading to shortages of supplies of food and medicine. The Argentine government sent emergency supplies by air at Bolivia’s request.

The combination of fuel shortages, increased prices and austerity measures, which Paz says are needed to ensure fiscal stability, have caused deep division in Bolivian society and within its government.

Vice-president Edmand Lara has accused the president of not fulfilling campaign promises.

Meanwhile, President Paz has criticized protesters saying, “There is no reason to attack innocent people.”

Ex-President Evo Morales, who governed Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, defended the protestors on X, writing: “That the people exercise their right to freedom of expression and protest is not an assault on democracy. An assault is to criminalize that right with false accusations, violent infiltrators, bonuses to repressors, division of organizations with perks, and dirty media campaigns.”

Economy Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza dismissed the protesters as “political operatives seeking to serve as a stepping stone” for Morales to return to power.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro also weighed in on X, declaring that, “Bolivia is experiencing a popular insurrection. It is the response to geopolitical arrogance.”

Paz was elected on a promise to end the costly fuel subsidies, comfortably defeating the far-right candidate, Jorge Quiroga in a run-off.

Nevertheless, the policy has been a major cause of unrest. The country’s largest labor federation, Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), declared a general strike last November.

Yesterday, an arrest warrant was issued for Mario Argollo, the secretary-general of the COB, charging him with terrorism and inciting crime for his role in the blockades.

Featured image description: President Rodrigo Paz speaks

Featured image credit: Pavel Špindler via Wikimedia Commons

The post Demonstrators clash with police in Bolivia as protests widen appeared first on Latin America Reports.