LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) 鈥� Bolivia鈥檚 President faces a deepening crisis as leave the political capital under siege less than six month after he took office.
Two weeks of road closures 鈥� spearheaded by the Bolivian Workers鈥� Central, COB, peasant unions and miners 鈥� have emptied markets in La Paz and depleted vital hospital oxygen reserves. The government reported that at least three people died after emergency vehicles were blocked from reaching medical centers.
On Monday, supporters of Bolivia鈥檚 influential clashed with police in the capital city as they joined multiple sectors demanding the resignation of the president, who lacks both a legislative majority and a robust political party to anchor his administration.
The unrest presents the biggest challenge yet for Paz, a business-friendly centrist who came to power six months ago as a electoral wins swept the region.
鈥淭hose seeking to destroy democracy will go to jail,鈥� Paz warned on Friday, even as the blockades expanded to engulf nearly the entire country.
What workers demand
The COB began by demanding wage increases, while peasant unions demanded a steady supply of gasoline. The miners, meanwhile, are negotiating separately for access to additional mining areas. Public schoolteachers are also holding separate talks regarding salary improvements.
“These demands have been largely addressed in a manner consistent with current realities; however, there are dark forces seeking to destabilize our democracy,鈥� said presidential spokesperson Jos茅 Luis G谩lvez, in an allusion to influential former .
Paz reiterates that he inherited a 鈥渂ankrupt state,鈥� yet his adversaries reproach him for his sluggish response to the worst crisis in 40 years 鈥� marked by and an inflation rate that hovered near 20% last year.
According to business organizations, ongoing protests and road blockades are draining more than $50 million per day from Bolivia’s economy and have left roughly 5,000 vehicles stranded on the highways.
The role of Morales
Morales marshaled the latest march from his hideout in Bolivia鈥檚 remote tropics. He has been holed up in the highlands for the past year and a half, evading an arrest warrant on . He says the allegations are politically motivated.
The Movement Toward Socialism, MAS, which had governed Bolivia for the past two decades under Morales and later , suffered a historic defeat in last year鈥檚 elections following a bitter feud between the two former leaders.
鈥淭he government and the right wing claim that I am a political corpse and that I lack the ability to mobilize anyone, yet they continue to blame me,鈥� Morales said recently on the social media platform X. 鈥淎s long as structural demands 鈥� such as those concerning fuel, food and inflation 鈥� remain unaddressed, the uprising will not be quelled.鈥�
Despite his fiery rhetoric, analysts believe Morales no longer has the power to rally mass support, suggesting instead that he is fueling the protests purely to evade justice.
Paz lacks legislative support
The collapse of the MAS era left the Bolivian political landscape deeply fractured, with no single party emerging as a dominant force.
Paz secured a , but the Christian Democratic Party 鈥� the vehicle for his rise to power 鈥� quickly fractured within the legislature. Meanwhile, the president remains locked in an open feud with his vice president, former police officer Edman Lara.
Paz began his term with vigor, reaching out to the international community to break the isolation that had characterized the MAS era. While his efforts secured various pledges of investments and loans, many of these funds have yet to materialize.
As a first measure, he put an end to fuel subsidies, which drove up the prices of gasoline and diesel 鈥� yet without triggering protests among a population weary of previous shortages. However, the government imported low-quality gasoline, which sparked protests among transport workers over damage to their vehicles.
The 鈥渏unk gasoline鈥� scandal triggered a wave of strikes and protests among transportation workers and the resignations of two high-ranking officials at the state-owned oil company.
The US and Latin America react to the crisis
The ongoing protests and blockades in Bolivia worry the wider region. Eight allied Latin American governments, from Chile to Costa Rica, recently released a joint statement rejecting 鈥渁ny action aimed at destabilizing the democratic order.鈥� Neighboring said it would start a weeklong humanitarian airlift to alleviate shortages in the country.
The United States, now after years in which Morales defined the country in opposition to Washington, said it supported Paz鈥檚 efforts 鈥渢o restore order for the peace, security and stability of the Bolivian people.鈥� The U.S. State Department issued an alert this week urging U.S. citizens traveling to Bolivia to be vigilant.
___
Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre reported from Ushuaia, Argentina.
___
Follow AP鈥檚 coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
