Bolivia declares state of emergency to break protest blockades

LA PAZ: Bolivia’s political and economic crisis deepened on Saturday after President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency, authorising wider military deployment to dismantle road blockades that have paralysed the country for nearly 50 days.

The decree grants the president expanded constitutional powers to deploy armed forces against the protests, which have brought the South American nation’s economy to a virtual standstill. Under Bolivian law, the measure takes immediate effect, although President Paz must notify Congress within 24 hours. Lawmakers will then have up to 72 hours to ratify or reject it.

Protests, largely backed by groups allied with former leftist president Evo Morales, have severed key transport routes nationwide. Hundreds of trucks remain stranded, while supplies of food, fuel and essential medicines have been choked off to major cities, including the administrative capital La Paz.

Political deadlock

The unrest began after the Paz government abruptly ended long-standing fuel subsidies in an effort to reduce the national deficit amid a severe dollar shortage and talks with the International Monetary Fund.

Although authorities later stabilised fuel prices and reversed unpopular land reforms, the demonstrations evolved into wider demands for substantial wage increases, an end to fuel and dollar shortages, and the president’s resignation.

President Paz announced the emergency in a televised address shortly after revealing a deal struck on Friday with the Bolivian Workers’ Confederation, the country’s main trade union.

However, the agreement has failed to end the disruptions, as rural groups aligned with Morales who were excluded from the talks continue to control vital roads, particularly in the central Cochabamba region.

Defending the decision, Paz described the protests as an organised effort to destabilise democracy following weeks of violence. He warned of legal consequences for those maintaining blockades, while insisting the decree was intended to restore freedom to ordinary Bolivians.

“This is not a state of emergency to restrict people’s lives,” he said. “It is a state of emergency to give freedom back to the people, to free Bolivia from those who use political conflict to block roads and harm the population.”