Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz warned yesterday, Wednesday, that his country was on the verge of collapse, after nearly a month of protests that caused severe shortages of food, fuel and life-saving medicines.
Paz, who is supported by the United States and took office 6 months ago amid the worst economic crisis in 40 years, is facing a wave of anger because of his centrist, right-wing policies.
The political capital, La Paz, is witnessing crowds of low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority demanding his resignation.
“The country needs order, and it has reached an unbearable extent,” the 58-year-old president said in a televised address to the nation yesterday, Wednesday.
He added, addressing the demonstrators, “If they do not want dialogue, there is no other way,” insisting at the same time that he prefers negotiation, saying, “We have victims because of the siege. Someone must be held accountable for that.”
However, the Bolivian president did not rule out using “constitutional tools” to end the siege of La Paz, in reference to declaring a state of emergency.
“Anyone who wants to destroy the country will face this president and the full force of the constitution,” he warned, assuring the police and army of the people’s support for them.
Calls are increasing for Baz to impose a state of emergency, meaning that the army will be responsible for restoring public order for 60 days.
Congress passed a law lifting restrictions on the military’s role in suppressing civil unrest late last Tuesday evening, and Paz now has the constitutional authority to exercise this power, which he considered an “option of last resort.”
The Bolivian president’s warnings came at a time when thousands of indigenous women, wearing traditional multi-layered skirts, marched through the streets of La Paz on “Mother’s Day” in Bolivia, in solidarity with striking transport workers.
Demonstrator Marta Puma Luque told Agence France-Presse, referring to Paz, “We are not afraid of death. We have already told him to pack his bags and leave.”
the beginning
The demonstrations began in early May to demand increased salaries to help workers overcome the severe economic crisis, provide stable fuel supplies, and cancel the unpopular agricultural reform.
Despite some concessions made by Paz, including regarding land reform, the protests turned into a massive revolution.
Over the past two weeks, La Paz has turned into a battlefield, with riot police repeatedly clashing with demonstrators, while the government of former President Evo Morales, who is in hiding, has been accused of masterminding the unrest.
An escalating crisis
In recent days, La Paz residents have organized small counter-demonstrations against barricades preventing essential supplies from reaching the city.
“Medicines have become expensive, and some of them are running out,” said Zolem Hinojosa, whose 13-year-old son suffers from asthma and heart problems.
At the Clínicas de La Paz State Hospital, one of the oldest and largest hospitals in the country, doctors told Agence France-Presse that their oxygen supply is sufficient for only a few days.
While the losses resulting from the protests were estimated at $600 million, Paz tried to calm the anger of the demonstrators by announcing that he would cut his salary by half in solidarity with the poor, which is a purely symbolic gesture, as his monthly income is about 24 thousand Bolivianos (about 3,500 US dollars).
He also pledged to give indigenous groups and labor unions a greater role in policy-making, and fired the unpopular labor minister, but to no avail.
The roots of the crisis
Less than 6 months ago, Paz’s inauguration seemed to herald a new reality for Bolivians who are suffering from the worst economic crisis in a generation and who are tired of two decades of almost continuous socialist rule.
Long queues in front of gas stations disappeared after the pro-business Baz secured fuel imports. The Bolivian currency, which had been suffering from chronic devaluation, rose in value on the black market, and stock markets rebounded thanks to his plan to reduce the budget deficit.
After years of diplomatic isolation, Bolivians felt proud of the dozens of international delegations that celebrated Paz’s inauguration, while he mended tense relations with the United States and regional powers.
Now, that optimism has dissipated and been replaced by fear, as violent protests rock the government of an ally of the administration of US President Donald Trump, while demonstrators besiege major cities carrying dynamite, leading to severe shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies.
Indigenous and rural Bolivians – who supported Paz’s election promises to change the status quo while preserving social welfare – demanded his resignation.
Cancel support
Paz did not appoint any members of Bolivia’s indigenous majority to senior positions. He supported a land reform bill to promote agricultural business, which the indigenous farmers saw as a threat of eviction.
It also eliminated fuel subsidies, causing prices to rise by nearly 90%. Motorists complained about gasoline pollution and damage to their cars.
To mitigate the impact of rising prices resulting from the war on Iran, Baz provided cash aid to the neediest families, raised the minimum wage by 20%, and repealed the controversial land law, but he also rejected demands for salary increases, angering the National Labor Union.
Siege strategy
Due to the unique geographical nature, the barriers erected along the slopes leading to the capital, La Paz, can completely isolate more than 1.6 million residents of the city and its suburbs, i.e. more than 13% of the country’s population.
Indigenous movements have long used the strategy of siege, popularized during the late 18th century revolt against Spanish colonialism.
In 2003 and 2005, the demonstrators – who closed the city of La Paz in protest against foreign ambitions in their country’s natural gas reserves – overthrew two successive pro-Western governments, paving the way for the rise of former President Evo Morales, founder of the “Toward Socialism” movement.
As the road closures choking La Paz enter their fourth week, thousands of trucks carrying food and other necessities – such as oxygen supplies for hospitals – remain stuck on highways.
Beef, eggs and fruit have disappeared from store shelves, and subsidized chicken is being flown to La Paz via military aircraft.
The government says that at least 4 people have died due to lack of medical care, and hospitals are still working, but medical teams are rationing supplies and focusing on critical cases.
Shop owners and transport workers opposed to the protests are stepping up pressure on La Paz to reopen the roads at any cost, and they banged empty pots as they marched through the city center the day before yesterday, chanting, “We want solutions. We can no longer tolerate this situation!”
Although security forces used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators and arrested more than 120 people, Baz has so far resisted calls to deploy more force to break the barriers.
Political divisions
Global reactions reveal political divisions, as governments allied with… Trump – which recently came to power across Latin America from Argentina and Chile to Honduras and Costa Rica – with its support for the city of La Paz, and denounced the protests, describing them as destabilizing.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro – one of the few leftist leaders still in power in the region – defended the protests, describing them as a “struggle for the dignity of Latin America.” In response, Bolivia expelled the Colombian ambassador.
The administration of US President Donald Trump took a tough stance, describing the demonstrations as an attempted coup. “We will not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected leaders in our hemisphere,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week.
The US Embassy in La Paz announced the closure of its doors on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the unrest.
