They are entering their second week in Bolivia against the center-right government of President Rodrigo Paz Pereira, where protesters have blocked roads across the country and turned the center of the capital, , into a battleground with police.
This is the most serious crisis facing the center-right Rodrigo Paz Pereira in just six months of his term, after he ended almost twenty years of rule by the leftist Movement towards Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo – MAS). In response to the protests, the president, one of whose first moves was to restore relations with the US, recently announced a broad reshuffle of the country’s government.
Economic crisis and fuel problem
Bolivia is experiencing its worst economic crisis in four decades, with dollar and fuel shortages as well as rising inflation — problems that began to emerge as early as the last years of previous president Luis Arce’s MAS government.
Paz Pereira, son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora, who ruled the country from 1989 to 1993, came to power promising a “shock economic cure”. However, conditions have not improved and some of his measures have proven deeply unpopular.
One of his first decisions was to abolish the fuel subsidy that had been in place for two decades, arguing that the free market would bring the country better quality fuel. Instead, shortages continued and shortly afterwards the “adulterated fuel” crisis erupted, when some of the supplies were found to be adulterated. The president said he was the victim of “sabotage” by former officials allegedly linked to MAS. For its part, the US hastened to comment on the developments, speaking of “a coup in progress”.
The protests have so far killed four people, one protester was reportedly killed in the clashes, while three others reportedly died because they failed to receive the necessary medical attention in time due to the roadblock situation. At the same time, dozens of injuries and more than 40 road blocks have been recorded across the country.
And a diplomatic crisis in relations with Colombia
Alongside the internal turmoil, Bolivia’s president is also facing a diplomatic crisis after he ordered the immediate expulsion of Colombia’s ambassador to La Paz in retaliation for statements by left-wing Colombian president and Trump “enemy” Gustavo Petro.
Last Sunday, Petro reposted a video in which Paz Pereira was presented as a “puppet of the US” and commented that Bolivia was experiencing a “popular uprising” which was “a response to geopolitical arrogance”.
Announcing the expulsion of Ambassador Elizabeth Garcia, Bolivia’s foreign ministry said the decision was taken to “preserve the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs”. Minutes later, Petro told a Colombian radio station that Bolivia was “sliding toward extremism.”
