Bolivia in crisis: Social unrest, demands for president to resign escalate

Santa Cruz, Bolivia – A spiralling governmental struggle is threatening societal stableness successful Bolivia.

Just six months aft the caller medication took office, President Rodrigo Paz is facing a question of demonstrations, road blockades and increasing calls for his resignation.

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The unrest began a small much than a period agone with the convergence of respective sector-based demands. Some organisations were calling for wage increases, others complained astir contaminated substance that had damaged thousands of vehicles, portion further groups protested against a instrumentality authorising changes to onshore classifications, which, its critics said, favoured onshore attraction among large concern owners.

Although the authorities managed to easiness immoderate of the disputes by conceding to definite demands, including repealing the onshore instrumentality and offering a fiscal bonus for teachers, arsenic good arsenic speeding up compensation for immoderate vehicles damaged, Indigenous groups from the highlands decided to propulsion the protests to the bounds by blocking roads successful an effort to unit the president to measurement down.

On May 6, hundreds of protesters began erecting barricades that person since surrounded the metropolis of La Paz, the spot of government, maintaining an mean of 20 simultaneous pickets each day. They person besides secured the enactment of different organisations that person historically exerted unit implicit authorities decision-making, including the Bolivian Workers’ Union.

“The request is for the president to resign owed to his inability to lick the country’s structural problems; helium is starring america adrift … helium is mortgaging the country. What aboriginal awaits our children and grandchildren?” Mario Argollo, national person of Central Obrera Boliviana, told reporters.

The Andean cities of La Paz and El Alto, 2 of the country’s astir populous municipality centers and that are adjacent to each other, are facing nutrient shortages, the suspension of classes successful immoderate schools and disruptions to nationalist proscription arsenic hundreds of protesters artifact roads.

Although galore residents affected by the protests person demanded a tougher effect against demonstrators successful bid to reconstruct order, the authorities has truthful acold ruled retired declaring a authorities of emergency.

Despite the differing motivations of the societal groups taking portion successful the protests, galore analysts judge determination is simply a deeper contented down the unrest: increasing discontent among Indigenous and working-class sectors.

Flames emergence from a cardboard container arsenic miners clash with riot constabulary during a protestation demanding the resignation of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, successful La Paz, connected May 18, 2026 [File: AFP]

‘Political and strategical shift’

Rodrigo Paz was a centrist legislator who, contempt having a agelong governmental career, was not a nationally known fig and managed to contiguous himself arsenic a “new” candidate. He became Bolivia’s archetypal president aft the epoch of the Movement for Socialism (MAS), which governed the state for astir 20 years with record-breaking electoral victories and legislature majorities. Due to mediocre administrative absorption and corruption, MAS near the state facing a heavy economical situation and received conscionable 3 percent of the ballot successful the 2025 elections.

During the predetermination campaign, Rodrigo Paz adopted a moderate, centrist sermon and roseate to powerfulness mostly acknowledgment to erstwhile MAS voters.

Now, six months into the presidency, those voters are not lone disenchanted, but besides feeling excluded from the government, arsenic Rodrigo Paz did not name Indigenous radical oregon working-class individuals to the furniture oregon to cardinal positions wrong the government.

These groups, which had governed alongside MAS for the past 2 decades present comprehend the medication arsenic aligned with concern elites and governing successful their favour.

Some of the argumentation moves that added to the discontent see Paz eliminating a taxation connected ample fortunes, appointing members of the concern elite to his cabinet, approving laws favouring agribusiness – specified arsenic the usage of genetically modified seeds – and aligning himself with the United States and Israel, countries with which Bolivia had nary diplomatic relations. He besides went from rejecting planetary loans during the run to seeking financing from organisations specified arsenic the International Monetary Fund.

“Rodrigo Paz won with a precise antithetic agenda, and halfway through, helium carried retired a governmental and strategical shift, some successful the creation of his medication and successful its orientation. Popular sectors, therefore, comprehend not lone exclusion, but besides an outright betrayal,” governmental expert Luciana Jauregui told Al Jazeera. It was the enactment of workers and agrarian communities that allowed Paz to triumph the predetermination with 55 percent of the vote, she said.

Antigovernment protesters clasp signs speechmaking successful Spanish ‘Resign Paz,’ and ‘Traitor government’ referring to President Rodrigo Paz successful La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, May 18, 2026 [File: Juan Karita/AP Photo]

Amid the protests, erstwhile President Evo Morales, who was successful powerfulness from 2006 to 2019, escalated unit further by mobilising his supporters for a 190-kilometre (118-mile) march towards La Paz to request the president’s resignation and the suspension of judicial proceedings against the erstwhile leader. Morales is facing an apprehension warrant and has been accused of abusing a teenage miss during his presidency.

Morales was the country’s archetypal Indigenous president, governed Bolivia for 3 consecutive terms, and achieved unprecedented electoral support. He governed with virtually nary opposition, and his medication was marked by policies of societal inclusion, Indigenous recognition, and economical prosperity, driven by booming state exports and a important poorness reduction.

In caller years, however, the state has faced a gradual economical deterioration marked by the diminution of the lipid and state industry, partially due to the fact that of mediocre management, a consequent shortage of US dollars arsenic that export fell, and rising inflation.

That economical downturn yet led MAS to suffer powerfulness amid disputes betwixt Morales and his successor, erstwhile President Luis Arce, who battled for power of the party.

Despite the powerfulness helium held, Morales’s departure from authorities was chaotic: He yet resigned successful 2019 amid protests aft seeking an amerciable 4th term.

Rodrigo Paz’s medication has accused the erstwhile president of orchestrating a “macabre plan” aimed astatine destabilising the authorities and returning to power. Officials person besides claimed the protests are financed by cause trafficking, though nary grounds has been presented to enactment those accusations.

“Our conflict is against those powers that person wealth from cause trafficking and usage the tools of coercion to prehend powerfulness by force,” statesmanlike spokesperson Jose Luis Galvez said during a quality conference.

Morales, acold from addressing the accusations directly, criticised a authorities that helium says “protects concern owners, bankers and agro-industrial elites portion mean radical erstwhile again basal successful lines, spell into indebtedness and endure hunger”.

“No code is going to erase that reality,” helium wrote connected X.

People march against protesters blocking the entree to the city, successful La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, May 20, 2026 [File: Juan Karita/AP Photo]

Increasing violence

In caller days, unit has intensified successful La Paz amid the convergence of aggregate marches astir authorities offices successful which miners equipped with dynamite and explosive materials clashed with the police. Local media besides reported attacks connected nationalist institutions and assaults connected civilians. According to authoritative sources, much than 120 radical were detained during Monday’s unrest, portion astatine slightest 11 injuries were reported.

For the government, the struggle has 2 chiseled dimensions: morganatic demands and efforts aimed solely astatine overthrowing the president.

“We are going to enactment with 2 instruments: dialog for the morganatic sectors and the afloat unit of the instrumentality against those who are attacking democracy,” Presidency Minister Jose Luis Lupo said.

Without organization representation, the societal sectors that erstwhile governed alongside MAS are present seeking to reclaim a relation successful governmental decision-making.

Magdalena Choque, a pistillate protesting successful the streets of La Paz, said she remained “in conflict against the government” due to the fact that authorities “are not listening to the people”.

“They bash not consult us. Everything is imposed by decrees, and thing benefits our homeland. We are being discriminated [against], determination is part here,” she said successful a video recorded connected the streets of La Paz and shared online.

Both the elimination of the taxation connected ample fortunes and the removal of substance subsidies, for instance, were approved by decree.

“Rodrigo Paz’s authorities had the historical accidental to suggest a caller societal synthesis. That accidental is being squandered,” Jauregui said, though she believes the existent struggle could yet go the ground for a caller “social pact that includes each sectors.”

Although it remains hard to foretell the absorption the unrest volition take, the authorities appears consenting to cede immoderate magnitude of power.

“The thought is to make a ministry that includes information from societal organisations; that could beryllium an option,” Public Works Minister Mauricio Zamora, a adjacent state of Paz, said successful a vigor interview.

As authorities hunt for a mode retired of the country’s maze of societal conflict, the authorities has ordered constabulary forces to periodically intervene successful the blockades to found a “humanitarian corridor” allowing nutrient and medicine to scope La Paz, which, arsenic the country’s administrative capital, occasionally becomes the signifier for Bolivia’s governmental disputes.