Bolivian military police arrested demonstrators and fired tear gas as authorities moved to break up road blockades following 11 days of protests over fuel shortages and wider economic grievances.
The unrest has disrupted major routes into La Paz and other parts of the country, even after the government reached a deal with protesting miners on Friday. Demonstrators have blocked roads to demand fuel, labour reforms and relief from Bolivia’s deepening economic crisis, which has been worsened by shortages of foreign currency and imported fuel.
The latest demonstrations were initially driven by farmers demanding the repeal of a land-mortgage law, but they quickly broadened to include miners, teachers, transport workers and rural organisations angry over fuel shortages, rising prices and President Rodrigo Paz’s economic policies. Clashes erupted in La Paz on Thursday when miners set off small dynamite charges and police fired tear gas near government buildings.
Although the government struck an agreement with miners on Friday, roadblocks and demonstrations by other groups continued. Bolivia’s road authority reported that routes into La Paz remained obstructed, forcing the government to move food into the capital by air.
The fuel crisis has been aggravated by global supply disruptions linked to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors. The disruption has hit fuel-importing countries particularly hard, adding pressure to Bolivia’s already fragile supply system.
Bolivia has struggled with recurring fuel shortages for years because of falling gas revenues, limited foreign currency and heavy dependence on imported gasoline and diesel. An Associated Press report earlier this month said the shortages have become so severe that many Bolivians are turning to electric vehicles to escape long queues and unreliable fuel supplies.
The protests have become one of the biggest tests yet for Paz, who took office in November promising to address Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in decades. His government has argued that reforms are necessary to stabilise the economy, but unions and social movements say ordinary Bolivians are paying the price through fuel scarcity, inflation and reduced purchasing power.
The use of military police to clear blockades may ease immediate transport pressure, but it risks inflaming tensions if protesters see the response as heavy-handed. For now, Bolivia remains caught between urgent economic reforms, a fuel supply shock and powerful social movements willing to paralyse roads until their demands are met.
