Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on Saturday morning after more than six weeks of road blockades and protests demanding his resignation.
“This is not a state of emergency to restrict people’s lives,” Paz said in a televised speech. “There is a state of emergency to give freedom back to the people, to liberate Bolivia from those who use the political conflict to block roads and harm the population,” he said.
Paz, who described the situation as an organized effort to destabilize democracy, said the decision to declare a state of emergency was made “after all avenues of negotiation were exhausted.”
The announcement comes hours after Paz announced on Friday that he had reached an agreement with the Bolivian Workers’ Confederation (COB), the country’s main trade union.
Bolivian blockade crisis
The conflict began in May when Paz ended two-decade-old fuel subsidies, which sent gas prices soaring.
Anti-government protests turned into blockades on major routes across the country, blocking access to Bolivia’s main cities, including La Paz and neighboring El Alto.
Protesters, including labor unions and groups loyal to former leftist President Evo Morales, reject Paz’s economic reforms.
They are demanding wage increases, a reversal of austerity measures and Paz’s resignation.
Rodrigo Paz ends two decades of socialist rule in Bolivia
Paz, whose election victory ended nearly 20 years of rule by the leftist Movement for Socialism (MAS) party in the South American country, has been in power for only seven months.
He took office in November 2025, promising to tackle the country’s worst economic crisis in four decades.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
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