For weeks protestors have marched and erected roadblocks, bringing Bolivia to a near standstill — pushing up prices and causing shortages of basic goods.
Riot police have fired tear gas in attempts to clear the blockades, but pulled back under gunfire that wounded several officers. Protesters hurled stones and burned tyres and at least 14 civilians were injured.
The protestors want US-backed conservative Paz to tackle a deep economic crisis, while others demand he step down.
Paz blamed “narco-terrorists” for the unrest and warned their “days are numbered.”
On Sunday, the legislature passed a new law paving the way for Paz to declare a state of emergency, which would authorise the military to crack down on the movement and clear the blockades.
“Our security is put at risk when narco-terrorism, and the priorities of certain actors, are not aligned with our democracy, our constitution,” Paz said in a signing ceremony for the new law.
“They put their own interests above those of Bolivian society.”
Waving white flags and chanting “Peace for La Paz,” hundreds of Bolivians marched through the city centre on Monday demanding an end to the roadblocks.
“We can no longer bear the hunger of the people, whose food baskets are empty,” vendor Ninoska Diaz said.
Paz on Sunday wrote on X that the capital La Paz and second city El Alto were “still facing difficult times, but concrete progress is also beginning to be made,” including on fuel distribution.
Pro-business Paz took office in November promising to resolve the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, but many are angered by his unpopular economic reforms and failure to respond to social demands.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump’s new Shield of the Americas alliance — an anti-cartel coalition that includes pro-US administrations in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile among other countries — gave Paz its unequivocal backing. (AFP)
