Bolivia’s native working class faces starvation and death as President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency, granting the military broad powers to dismantle road blockades. These blockades, erected by highland Indigenous and rural workers’ groups, are a direct response to Paz’s austerity measures, including the cancellation of fuel subsidies, which have triggered fuel and food shortages, paralyzed transportation, and caused at least 17 deaths, with 7 specifically linked to a lack of medical attention.
The protests, ongoing for five weeks, have seen demonstrators call for Paz’s resignation, accusing his government of neglecting their needs since he took office. These groups, who previously supported the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, helped vault Paz to power last year but now face the direct consequences of his economic policies.
President Paz, a centrist, came to power in November, ending almost 20 years of MAS rule, which he claimed delivered the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation. He promised to resolve chronic fuel shortages and replenish the central bank’s coffers. However, his austerity measures, particularly the elimination of long-standing fuel subsidies, have exacerbated biting inflation, directly impacting the economic stability of the native population.
Elite Mandates and Popular Suffering
The state of emergency, declared by Paz, is intended to guarantee fuel supplies and orders the armed forces to support police in "restoring order, reopening roads and protecting the population." Paz stated the measure is "to give people back their freedom," even as it targets the very groups protesting for their economic survival. This decree, lasting 90 days, prohibits "blocking streets, avenues, roads and highways in ways that affect transportation and supplies."
Paz’s government, while fixing fuel shortages, did so with poor-quality gasoline that damaged thousands of vehicles, further burdening the native working class. Reforms aimed at encouraging foreign investment and stimulating economic growth have stalled in Congress, yet the push for such transnational capital remains a core tenet of his administration’s agenda.
Foreign Intervention Secures Regime
The Trump administration has openly backed President Paz, who repaired relations with the U.S. after years of what was termed "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 caused by the blockades. This external intervention directly supports a regime implementing policies that harm its own native population.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth denounced the protests as "attempts to overthrow the legitimate government," issuing a warning to those he said were "profiting on death and destruction in our hemisphere." Hegseth’s statement, "The United States is watching," underscores a clear assertion of supranational influence over Bolivia’s internal affairs, effectively securing the elite’s grip on power against popular resistance.
The Cost to the Native Population
The violent confrontations between dynamite-wielding demonstrators and riot police have resulted in at least 365 arrests and 37 injuries. The ombudsman’s office and human rights organizations report at least 17 deaths, most linked to a lack of medical care caused by transportation disruptions. The government itself acknowledges at least seven deaths due to lack of medical attention.
As businesses closed and supermarket shelves emptied, hospitals ran out of oxygen, directly impacting the health and survival of the native population. While Paz signed an agreement with one labor union, other protesters continue to demand his resignation, refusing to negotiate, highlighting the deep-seated popular resistance to the government’s globalist-aligned policies. Former President Evo Morales has also supported the protests, further demonstrating the widespread opposition to the current regime’s direction.