Bolivia President Declares State of Emergency, Deploys Military to Crack Down on Protests

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a nationwide state of emergency on November 2, deploying soldiers and bulldozers to clear street barricades erected by protesters, aiming to end a crisis that has lasted more than six weeks.

Since mid-September, labor unions, indigenous groups, and coca farmers have been marching in several cities and blocking major roads with stones, wood, and garbage to protest the conservative government of President Paz.

The blockades have caused severe shortages of fuel, food, and medicine in major cities. Bolivia's economy has suffered billions of dollars in losses, and the protests have threatened to topple the country's first non-socialist government in two decades.

In a televised speech early on November 2, Paz declared a 90-day state of emergency, restricting the right to protest and authorizing the deployment of the military. He warned protesters would face “the full force of the law.”

Shortly after, reporters in the city of El Alto witnessed convoys of armed soldiers and police, accompanied by bulldozers moving in to remove the barricades. Some residents applauded as the convoys passed; one man handed a bag of bread to police in a pickup truck.

“I'm very happy,” said Carla Butron, a 39-year-old shop owner. “Everything was difficult in El Alto for more than 50 days—work, moving around.”

In the capital La Paz, military police and marines guarded the presidential palace, while tactical police units took positions in the main squares.

“Bolivians cannot continue to be held hostage by barricades that prevent them from working, studying, accessing healthcare, and bringing food home,” Paz wrote on social media. “This state of emergency is not meant to take away normalcy, but to restore it.”

The protesters demand that Paz abandon free-market economic reforms and resign, less than a year after he took office. The 58-year-old leader had previously said he was ready to negotiate and earlier this week reached a deal with a major union: in exchange for a pledge not to privatize state-owned enterprises and to hold a dialogue, the Bolivian Central Workers' Union agreed to end the protests.

However, some indigenous groups declared they would continue the fight. More than 40 major blockades remain. “We want him out. We don't want him to rule,” said Lidia Callisaya, a 42-year-old Aymara leader.

Some residents are ready for the chaos to end. Erland Richard Segovia, a 49-year-old truck driver, hoped to reach Santa Cruz. “They left us on the road, we had to wait. Now at least we see traffic starting to return to normal,” he said.

Paz accused “narco-terrorists”—specifically former president Evo Morales—of being behind the road-blocking protests. Morales, a left-wing politician, indigenous leader, and former coca farmer, served as president from 2006 to 2019. He is in hiding, facing charges of human trafficking of minors, which he denies.

Morales's stronghold is the Chapare region in central Bolivia, now a potential flashpoint. He is protected by thousands of indigenous supporters, preventing police from arresting him. Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo on November 2 did not rule out launching an operation to capture the former leader. “Security forces will carry out any necessary operation at the right time,” he said, adding that Morales must face the law.