Bolivia emergency declared as Paz deploys military to clear blockade crisis

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz has declared a 90-day emergency and sent the military to help clear road blockades. The move sharpens his confrontation with protesters as shortages, deaths and political pressure deepen the national crisis.

In Short

• Hospitals ran out of oxygen as barricades blocked patients and supplies
• Human rights groups say transport disruption contributed to at least seventeen deaths
• One labour union agreed to lift blockades, but other groups rejected talks

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Saturday declared a 90-day state of emergency, giving the military broad powers to help remove road blockades that have disrupted fuel and food supplies in La Paz and other major cities. The move follows five weeks of protests demanding his resignation over austerity measures, including the scrapping of fuel subsidies, and other issues.

The government said the emergency is aimed at restoring transport and essential supplies without curbing constitutional rights or daily life. In a televised address, Paz said, "This is not a state of emergency to restrict people's lives. It is a state of emergency to give people back their freedom."

The protests have led to violent clashes between demonstrators carrying dynamite and riot police. Authorities say at least 365 people have been arrested and 37 injured. Bolivia's ombudsman's office and human rights organisations say at least 17 people have died, most of them linked to a lack of medical care caused by transport disruptions.

Road barricades on key routes have effectively cut off La Paz, leading to shortages of fuel and food, paralysing transport and stopping patients from reaching hospitals. The government says at least seven people have died because they could not get medical attention. As businesses shut during the protests, supermarket shelves emptied and hospitals ran out of oxygen, increasing calls from some sections for Paz to restore order by force.

On Friday night, Paz signed an agreement with one labour union, whose leaders called for the blockades to be lifted. But other protesters have refused talks and continued to demand that he step down. Paz said the emergency was meant to secure fuel supplies, which have become scarce because tanker lorries remain stranded by the blockades.

The decree bars the blocking of streets, avenues, roads and highways in ways that affect transport and supplies. It also directs the armed forces to temporarily support the police in restoring order, reopening roads and protecting the population. The government said the emergency could be lifted before 90 days if violence and threats against the public end.

Paz took office in November, ending nearly 20 years of uninterrupted rule by Bolivia's Movement Toward Socialism party, or MAS, during what the report described as the country's worst economic crisis in a generation. A centrist who defeated more conservative candidates, he had promised to address chronic fuel shortages and rebuild the central bank's depleted reserves while preserving the social welfare policies that had helped MAS retain support.

His austerity steps, especially the removal of long-standing fuel subsidies, have worsened inflation. Although his government addressed fuel shortages, it did so with poor-quality petrol that damaged thousands of vehicles. Measures meant to attract foreign investment and spur growth have meanwhile stalled in Congress.

Highland Indigenous and rural workers' groups, which had long backed MAS but helped bring Paz to power last year, have led the protests, accusing his government of ignoring their needs after taking office. Paz is also facing pressure from Bolivia's hard right, which dominates Congress, and from the long-ruling left. Former president Evo Morales has backed the protests and called for a fresh election from his base in the coca-growing tropics, where he is evading an arrest warrant on charges linked to statutory rape.

The Trump administration has backed Paz after he repaired ties with the US following years of anti-Western hostility in Bolivia under Morales. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Paz last week that Washington was "ramping up emergency assistance and logistics operations support" to ease shortages caused by the blockades. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the protests as "attempts to overthrow the legitimate government" and warned those he said were "profiting on death and destruction in our hemisphere", adding: "The United States is watching."

The emergency declaration marks Paz's strongest step yet against a protest movement that has choked vital supplies, intensified political pressure on his government and deepened the crisis across Bolivia.

With PTI Inputs

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