Bolivia is now under a state of emergency after weeks of protests and road blockades brought the country’s economy to a near standstill. President Rodrigo Paz announced the move Saturday, giving the military new authority to clear barricades that have choked off food, fuel, and medical supplies across the country.
The crisis has been building for roughly 50 days now. Protesters demanding Paz’s resignation over his austerity measures have set up barricades on key roads, and those blockades have effectively isolated La Paz, Bolivia’s administrative capital, according to the Associated Press and Reuters.
Speaking to the nation early Saturday morning, Paz argued the protests had moved well beyond ordinary demonstration. He described the blockades as an organized effort aimed at destabilizing Bolivia‘s democracy rather than a legitimate form of social protest.
“This is not a state of emergency to restrict people’s lives. It is a state of emergency to give people back their freedom,” Paz said in his televised address.
“I have arranged for the implementation of the State of Exception to free the country’s roads,” Paz said. He added that Bolivians “cannot continue to be hostages of blockades that prevent working, studying, receiving medical attention, supplying themselves, and bringing sustenance to their homes.”
What the State of Emergency Actually Does
According to a government statement reported by the AP and Reuters, the decree is set to last 90 days, though it could be lifted sooner if violence and threats against the public come to an end.
The order specifically bans blocking streets, avenues, roads, and highways in ways that disrupt transportation and the movement of goods. It also directs the armed forces to temporarily assist police in restoring order, reopening roads, and protecting the public. Paz said the move clears the way for police and military to bring back normalcy to a country, which he said remains under pressure from “organized groups” still using violence to paralyze the country, according to CNN.
Weeks of Protest, A Mounting Human Toll
The unrest traces back to Paz’s decision to cut Bolivia’s longstanding fuel subsidies in an effort to shrink the government’s budget deficit. That move, paired with broader economic strain, set off a wave of protests led largely by labor unions, farmers, highland Indigenous communities, and rural workers’ groups, many of whom accuse Paz’s government of ignoring their needs since he took office.
Supporters of former President Evo Morales have also backed the demonstrations, according to CNN.
The toll from weeks of unrest has been severe. Authorities say the protests have led to 365 arrests and 37 injuries amid violent clashes between demonstrators and riot police. At least 17 people have died, with most of those deaths linked to a lack of medical care caused by transportation disruptions, according to Bolivia’s ombudsman’s office and human rights organizations.
Daily life across the country has taken a hit too. Businesses have shut down, supermarket shelves have emptied out, and hospitals have run out of oxygen, prompting some segments of the public to actually call on Paz to restore order through force.
A Fragile Path Toward Resolution
There has been at least some movement toward de-escalation. On Friday night, Paz signed an agreement with one of the labor unions involved in the protests, with that union’s leaders calling for blockades to be lifted. Still, not everyone is on board. Some protesters are holding firm on their demand that Paz resign outright and have refused to negotiate at all.
A Difficult Start for Bolivia’s New Leader
Paz took office just seven months ago, inheriting the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation, a crisis that helped end nearly two decades of leftist rule under Bolivia’s Movement to Socialism party, which had governed almost continuously since 2006.
When he came into power, Paz promised to fix Bolivia’s chronic fuel shortages and rebuild the central bank’s depleted reserves, all while protecting the country’s social welfare programs.
Since then, he’s also worked to repair Bolivia’s diplomatic relationship with Washington, which had been strained since 2009. Last year, he unveiled a proposed $1.5 billion economic cooperation deal with US officials aimed at securing fuel supplies.
But his broader economic agenda has hit roadblocks of its own. Beyond the fuel subsidy cuts that triggered the current unrest, Paz’s efforts to encourage foreign investment and jumpstart economic growth have stalled in Congress. Meanwhile, Bolivia continues to struggle with a shortage of foreign currency, a sharp decline in natural gas exports, inflation at a 40 year high, and ongoing fuel scarcity.