Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz has declared a state of emergency, granting the military broad powers to dismantle road blockades erected by workers and Indigenous groups protesting austerity measures and the cancellation of fuel subsidies. The state action follows five weeks of demonstrations that have resulted in at least 17 deaths, primarily due to lack of medical care caused by transportation disruptions, alongside 365 arrests and 37 injuries.
The decree, effective for 90 days, orders armed forces to support police in "restoring order, reopening roads and protecting the population," while prohibiting blockades that disrupt transportation and supplies. This move comes as hospitals have run out of oxygen and supermarket shelves have emptied in major cities, including La Paz, which has been effectively isolated by the barricades.
The protests, led by highland Indigenous and rural workers’ groups, target Paz’s government for neglecting their needs and imposing austerity measures. The most significant of these is the elimination of long-standing fuel subsidies, which has exacerbated biting inflation across the country.
Paz, a centrist who assumed power in November, had promised to resolve chronic fuel shortages and replenish the central bank’s coffers while protecting social welfare. However, his administration's response to fuel shortages involved poor-quality gasoline that damaged thousands of vehicles, and reforms aimed at encouraging foreign investment and stimulating economic growth have stalled in Congress.
The State's Iron Fist
President Paz stated in a televised address that the state of emergency is "not to restrict people’s lives" but "to give people back their freedom," and that it "doesn’t limit due process rights or constitutional guarantees." This rhetoric accompanies the deployment of military force against demonstrators whose actions have been met with violent confrontations involving dynamite and riot police.
The government reports that at least seven deaths were directly caused by lack of medical attention due to blockades. Despite an agreement signed by Paz with one labor union to lift blockades, other protesters have refused to negotiate, demanding Paz’s resignation.
Imperial Backing for Capital
The United States government has openly backed President Paz, who repaired relations with the U.S. after years of anti-Western hostility under former President Evo Morales. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Paz that Washington was "ramping up emergency assistance and logistics operations support" to alleviate shortages.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denounced the protests as "attempts to overthrow the legitimate government," warning those he accused of "profiting on death and destruction in our hemisphere" that "The United States is watching." This intervention underscores the international capital's interest in maintaining a compliant government that facilitates reforms for foreign investment.
Paz's rise to power ended almost 20 years of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, which Paz claims delivered the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation. Former President Evo Morales, now evading an arrest warrant on charges related to statutory rape from a hideout, has supported the current protests and demanded a new election.
Austerity's Human Cost
The highland Indigenous and rural workers’ groups, who previously supported MAS and helped Paz to power, now accuse his government of neglecting their needs. Their continued resistance against the state's measures highlights the ongoing struggle against policies designed to concentrate wealth upwards through the systematic underpayment of labor and the privatization of collective resources.