Bolivia Declares Emergency.
Bolivia Declares 90-Day Emergency Amid Protests, Military Deploys as Congress Considers Approval.
Key Points
In a late-night televised address, Paz warned protesters they would face “the full force of the law” and said the emergency was intended “to restore” normalcy, while noting the measure would curb the right to protest and enable domestic military deployment.
As enforcement began, reports described highly visible, rapid-action scenes in El Alto: AFP journalists saw “a convoy” of squads of armed police while bulldozers cleared roadblocks, and local reporting said “at least 200 police officers” in tactical gear carrying tear gas gathered near a police headquarters.
The protests were organized through multiple social and economic groups—described as “anti-government unions, Indigenous groups and coca farmers,” and elsewhere as being led by “miners, farmers and indigenous groups”—using roadblocks built with “rubble, logs and debris,” according to reports.
Protesters’ demands extended beyond Paz’s ouster and included policy issues: they called for reinstating fuel subsidies and rolling back austerity measures, and reports also said the unrest has left “several people” dead and “hundreds” arrested.
Paz’s negotiated détente with the main union came with specific terms: the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) agreed to end protests after receiving a pledge including “a promise not to privatize state companies” and to hold further talks; however, many road corridors remained controlled by Morales-aligned groups not included in negotiations (notably in/around Cochabamba).
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a 90-day nationwide state of emergency in the early hours of June 20, hours after signing a deal with the country's main labor union to end more than 50 days of crippling road blockades. The emergency gives the military expanded powers to clear barricades that have caused an estimated $3 billion in economic losses and left at least 17 people dead, according to AP.
Paz framed the blockades as "an attempted coup backed by narco-terrorism" and warned protesters they would face "the full force of the law." Congress must vote to approve or reject the 90-day emergency within 72 hours, setting up a fast-moving constitutional deadline that could reshape the crisis.
How 50 Days of Blockades Brought Bolivia to Its Knees
The crisis began May 1, when the Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) launched strikes and road blockades demanding wage increases and the repeal of a land-reform law. Protests spread fast. Miners, farmers, and Indigenous groups built barricades of "rubble, logs and debris" across more than 100 roads nationwide, according to Al Jazeera. About 5,000 cargo trucks remain stranded, food prices have surged nearly 90%, and shortages of fuel and medicine have left hospitals struggling to get oxygen, according to myrtlebeachonline.com.
The economic damage runs to roughly $50 million per day. Political consultant Ricardo Paz Ballivian warned the country stands on the "precipice of a severe sanitary catastrophe." Paz tried to de-escalate in May by canceling the disputed land law. It did not work. Protesters expanded their demands to include reinstating fuel subsidies — which had been cut by 163% for diesel under Paz's austerity plan — and calling for his resignation.
Paz Cuts a Deal With Labor, but Morales Allies Refuse
Late Friday, Paz signed an agreement with COB Executive Secretary Mario Argollo to end the strikes. The deal included a promise not to privatize state companies and a commitment to further talks. Argollo said, "Dialogue is stronger than force itself." But Indigenous groups and "Evista" factions — supporters of exiled former President Evo Morales — called the agreement a "betrayal" and vowed to keep blocking roads, according to Al Jazeera.
Morales, who is in hiding while facing criminal charges, has rallied supporters from the Chapare coca-growing region. Cochabamba Governor Leonardo Loza, a key Morales ally, declared: "We will continue the road blockades until this government resigns." That means major corridors around Cochabamba remain controlled by groups that were not part of Friday's negotiations and are not bound by the COB deal.
Bulldozers and Armed Police Move Into El Alto at Dawn
Enforcement began immediately after the declaration. AFP journalists saw a convoy of armed police units move into El Alto, a flashpoint city above La Paz. Bulldozers rolled in to clear barricades while at least 200 officers in tactical gear carrying tear gas gathered near a local police headquarters, according to ca.news.yahoo.com. The scenes were fast and highly visible — a signal that Paz intended the emergency to look decisive.
The emergency decree explicitly curbs the right to protest and expands domestic military deployment — tools the government says are needed to reopen roads but that opposition lawmakers warn could inflame tensions. Lawmaker Gustavo Aliaga cautioned that military force alone will not resolve the underlying grievances that sparked the crisis. The government has also been in talks with the IMF over a $3 billion financing deal, and clearing the roads is seen as essential to keeping that agreement on track, according to myrtlebeachonline.com.
Congress Has 72 Hours to Decide Bolivia's Next Move
Under Bolivian law, the Plurinational Legislative Assembly must approve or reject the 90-day emergency within 72 hours. If Congress rejects the decree, it would trigger a direct conflict between the executive and legislative branches — a constitutional crisis on top of an economic one. Paz's center-right bloc does not hold a majority, making the vote genuinely uncertain, according to Al Jazeera.
The numbers behind the crisis are stark: 17 confirmed deaths, 365 arrests, 37 injuries, and roughly 85 to 90 blockades still active as of mid-June, according to myrtlebeachonline.com. The US has offered $20 million in counter-narcotics equipment. Brazil has issued travel warnings. Whether the emergency resolves the crisis or deepens it depends largely on what Congress does in the next three days — and whether Morales-aligned groups decide to stand down or dig in.
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