LA PAZ, BOLIVIA — The road blockades that strangled Bolivia for 50 days are gone, but the crisis that produced them remains.
By June 23, all blockade points had been lifted across Bolivia, with only road-clearing operations remaining on some routes. The physical resolution came five days after President Rodrigo Paz declared a nationwide state of emergency on June 20 — giving the military broad powers to forcibly clear the barricades that had isolated La Paz, emptied supermarket shelves, cut off hospitals from oxygen supplies, and killed at least 14 people since May 1.
A joint statement from the United States and 16 other nations — including Argentina, Chile, Canada, Ecuador, and Peru — expressed deep concern over the effects of “violent road blockades on democracy and the rule of law in Bolivia.” The statement was unambiguous:
“The continued efforts to undermine and overthrow the legitimate and democratically elected government of President Rodrigo Paz represent a serious threat to constitutional order and democratic stability in the country and the hemisphere.”
The international coalition that lined up behind Paz — Washington, the right-wing governments of the southern cone, and Central American democracies — reflects the degree to which Bolivia’s internal crisis had become an external geopolitical contest.
Bolivia Revisited
Paz came to power in November 2025 with the backing of a centrist coalition, ending nearly 20 years of uninterrupted rule by the leftist Movement Toward Socialism led by former president Evo Morales. He inherited a country in serious trouble — low on foreign currency reserves, its once-plentiful natural gas exports plummeted, and inflation at a 40-year high.
The trigger for the crisis was a fuel subsidy cut. A presidential decree in December 2025 ended national fuel subsidies, causing much higher gasoline prices. Reforms to encourage foreign investment and stimulate economic growth also stalled in Congress. By May, the accumulated frustration had turned into organized resistance.
Initially triggered by farmers protesting against a law allowing land to be used as mortgage collateral, the unrest spread to include miners, teachers, and Indigenous Bolivians. Even though Paz annulled the law on May 13, protests continued to spread. Workers demanded higher wages, labor reform, and Paz’s resignation.
Former president Evo Morales stoked and later capitalized on the uproar, leading a 190-kilometer march into La Paz on May 19, escalating pressure on the capital and his political opponent, the nation’s elected president.
Paz had repeatedly called dialogue his preferred route and described emergency powers as a last resort. By Saturday June 20, he had run out of patience. “After exhausting all dialogue, after reaching agreements with those who had legitimate demands, and clearly identifying those who used violence to try and destabilize Bolivia, we have made the decision to enact a state of exception across all national territory,” he said.
U.S. Position
Washington’s involvement in Bolivia’s crisis went beyond the joint statement. The U.S. State Department confirmed on June 4 that Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Paz and stated the United States’ unwavering commitment to support Bolivia’s democracy. The State Department also said the U.S. was ramping up emergency assistance and logistics operations support to help those facing acute food and medical shortages caused by the blockades.
President Trump called the unrest a coup and claimed the protests had funding from “narco-terrorists.” Argentine President Javier Milei expressed support for Paz and sent military aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to Bolivia.
Days after Trump blamed “narco-terrorists” for the protests, Paz adopted the term himself, signing legislation enabling the state of emergency at a ceremony where he thanked Defense Secretary Hegseth for his “support for democracy.” The language transfer — from Washington to La Paz — illustrated the degree to which Bolivia’s center-right government has aligned its political framing with the Trump administration’s hemispheric narrative.
That alignment has its critics. Bolivian labor unions, Indigenous organizations, and opposition figures argued throughout the crisis that the protests reflected legitimate economic grievances — rising fuel costs, stalled wages, and the pain of a government that promised reform and delivered austerity.
Where Things Stand
On June 19, the Paz administration and the Bolivian Workers’ Center reached an agreement to establish sectoral working groups and move toward the suspension of protest measures. Hours later, the government declared the state of emergency for a period of 90 days. The sequencing — agreement, then emergency declaration — suggests the government used both tools simultaneously: negotiating with those it could reach and deploying force against those it could not.
“There comes a moment when failing to act ceases to be prudence and becomes irresponsibility. And that moment has arrived,” Paz said in his emergency address.
Some opposition lawmakers warned the state of emergency could deepen unrest if it failed to address the protests’ underlying causes. Analysts noted that the emergency powers, while constitutionally authorized for 90 days, would need to be accompanied by genuine economic relief to prevent a recurrence.
The roads are open. The fuel subsidies are gone. The economy remains fragile. And a former president who led 190 kilometers of marchers into La Paz is still operating from a hideout in the coca-growing tropics, evading an arrest warrant, and calling the unrest an “indigenous rebellion” that is not finished.
Bolivia has stepped back from the edge. Whether it stays there depends on whether Paz can deliver the economic relief his coalition promised — and whether Washington’s support is enough to sustain a government whose legitimacy is being contested from below.
Sociedad Media will continue to monitor events out of Bolivia as they develop. Contact the outlet for any questions or inquiries at info@sociedadmedia.com.
