Producers from Marban province in Beni blocked the San Pablo bridge on Aug. 26, demanding repeal of a decree that had split the diesel subsidy. They briefly lifted the blockade after the government pledged to guarantee diesel supply, then resumed it over continued shortages. That’s the shape of the crisis: people at the bottom shutting down a bridge because the fuel system built from above kept failing them.
Who Pays for the Fuel Order
Bolivia’s government expanded the subsidized diesel quota for small agricultural producers on Sept. 2, 2026, and intervened in state oil firm YPFB to try to fix fuel supply. Under Supreme Decree 5698, small farmers can now buy between 121 and 2,500 liters a month, and the price stays at 9.80 bolivianos, or US$0.81, per liter. The diesel is for the producer’s own use and cannot be resold. Producers must show a national ID card to buy diesel under the new quota, and they must also be registered in Bolivia’s Unified Agricultural Regime, known as the RAU.
The rules come with paperwork, gates, and surveillance. The RAU must send updated lists of eligible producers by the 10th business day of each month, and regulators had three business days to write rules for Supreme Decree 5698. That’s how the apparatus works: ration the fuel, track the bodies, and call it management.
President Rodrigo Paz promulgated the decree on Sept. 2, 2026, after producer rejection of an earlier measure, Supreme Decree 5676. Producers had blocked roads over the terms of Decree 5676 before the government revised its approach. The government expected the larger quota to end the protests, and officials announced the quota increase on Sept. 2, 2026.
What the Bridge Blockade Forced Into the Open
The San Pablo bridge blockade made the shortages impossible to hide. Producers had briefly lifted it after the government pledged to guarantee diesel supply, but they later resumed it over continued shortages. The blockade wasn’t a slogan. It was direct action against a fuel regime that left farmers waiting while officials adjusted quotas and issued decrees.
On Aug. 17, the government removed the diesel subsidy for large consumers and set a new reference price of 18.00 bolivianos, or US$1.49, per liter. Public and private transport with minimum consumption, plus small agricultural producers, kept paying 9.80 bolivianos, or US$0.81, per liter. The state then doubled the Treasury funds backing the fuel subsidy to 2,000 million bolivianos, or US$165.8 million, after reported shortages and roadblocks around the country.
That money didn’t end the lines. Bolivia has faced fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations for months, and a shortage of U.S. dollars has made it harder for YPFB to pay foreign fuel suppliers. The dollar shortage has also pushed Bolivia toward multiple exchange rates. The people waiting in those lines are the ones absorbing the cost of a system that can’t keep its own supply chain together.
YPFB Under Intervention
Supreme Decree 5697, promulgated on Sept. 1, ordered an extraordinary intervention of YPFB for up to 180 calendar days, extendable once by 90 more days. The goal is to review the company’s commercialization, logistics and fuel traceability, and to strengthen the import and distribution chain. The commission will look for fuel smuggling networks, hoarding and diversions in the supply chain. The decree says the intervention does not abolish the state oil company or change its legal structure.
The intervention commission has six members: Fernando Aramayo of the Presidency, Christian Morales of Economy, Oscar Mario Justiniano of Production, Marcelo Blanco of Hydrocarbons, Mauricio Zamora of Public Works and Vice-Minister of Transparency Yamil Garcia. That’s the hierarchy in plain sight. The same state that can’t keep fuel moving now sends in a six-member commission to inspect the wreckage.
Public Works Minister Mauricio Zamora said the company should leave fuel commercialization and focus on exploring for and producing hydrocarbons. He said, “We have to remove this cancer that YPFB has, and that cancer is called commercialization.” He added, “We are going to do like a chemotherapy to remove this cancer that is harming Bolivians.” Hydrocarbons Minister Marcelo Blanco said YPFB should return to its natural role and that it was not created to sell fuel to the public. He said YPFB should instead focus on exploration, production and refinery work. Both ministers made their comments at a press conference on Sept. 2, 2026.
Production Minister Oscar Mario Justiniano traveled to Cuatro Canadas with YPFB technicians on Sept. 2 to explain Decree 5698 and review local fuel supply. Cuatro Canadas is a farming area in Santa Cruz department. The officials moved through the countryside with technicians and decrees while producers kept blocking roads and asking for diesel that actually arrives. The state calls it intervention. The people living with the shortages know what it feels like.