Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency across the country on Saturday, June 20, after more than six weeks of violent protests and the blockade of vital roads in the country.
In a televised address to the nation, Baz explained that the decision came after exhausting all means of dialogue, reaching agreements with those whose demands were legitimate, and identifying those who used violence in an attempt to destabilize the democratic system in Bolivia, stressing that the state has reached an intolerable level that requires the imposition of order by the force of the constitution.
The extraordinary announcement came a few hours after the government signed an agreement with the country's main labor union in exchange for de-escalation and lifting pressure measures, while rural unions and unions loyal to former socialist President Evo Morales continued their protest movements and blockade of main roads, particularly in the Cochabamba region.
Road closures have stranded trucks and disrupted the supply of food, fuel and life-saving medicines to the political capital of La Paz, resulting in a shortage of government hospitals and depleted oxygen stocks, as well as costing the national economy an estimated US$600 million.
The Roots of the Economic and Political Crisis
The political and living crisis in Bolivia erupted in early May, when trade unions began organizing mass demonstrations to demand higher salaries, ensure stable energy supplies and improve economic management, after President Paz abruptly cut historic fuel subsidies to reduce the budget deficit, causing prices to rise by nearly 90%.
The demonstrations turned into a massive revolt led by thousands of indigenous women who took to the streets of La Paz to demand the resignation of the center-right president, who took office just six months ago, and protesters saw his agrarian policies and real estate reforms as a direct threat to farmers to evict in favor of business, criticizing his government formation for lack of representation from indigenous people.
Bolivia's president has taken several successive steps to contain popular anger, including announcing a 50% cut in his monthly salary to about 24,000 Bolivians ($3,500) as a symbolic gesture of solidarity, as well as dismissing the labor minister and giving unions a greater role in policymaking, but to no avail.
Paz relied on a proactive move by Bolivia's Congress on May 27, when lawmakers repealed a previous law that required parliamentary approval and limited the president's ability to impose a state of emergency, giving him absolute constitutional powers to mobilize the armed forces and impose restrictions on civil liberties for 60 days.
International Division and Foreign Attitudes
The Bolivian unrest has created a sharp political and diplomatic division at the global level, with governments allied with the US President Donald Trump administration in Latin America, from Argentina and Chile to Honduras and Costa Rica, rushing to denounce the protests and declare their full support for the city of La Paz.
Washington has taken a tough stance through its Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described the demonstrations as an attempt by criminals and drug dealers to overthrow democratically elected leaders, prompting the U.S. embassy to temporarily close its doors due to the ongoing violence.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro defended the trade union and indigenous movement as a legitimate struggle for Latin American dignity, which the Bolivian government met with a decisive response in the immediate expulsion of the Colombian ambassador.
The legacy of the 2019 conflict and the legislative transformation
Previous constitutional restrictions that constrained the president's powers to impose a state of emergency have been linked to the bloody unrest in Bolivia in 2019, which resulted in the deaths of 36 people and the resignation of socialist President Evo Morales.
Bolivia's socialist-majority congress, which took power at the time, sought to reduce the executive's claws in the use of weapons against civilians, before the political balances shifted in June 2026 with the decision of Speaker of the House of Representatives Roberto Castro to repeal those restrictions, giving Washington's ally a last resort to tighten the military's grip and subdue the striking street.
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