Story perspectives

Morales Supporters Block Roads, Demand President Paz Resignation

5/19/2026

Summary

Paz Faces Protests

President Rodrigo Paz faces protests as Morales supporters march on La Paz demanding his resignation.
Protesters have set up 67 road blockades, including 22 on Monday and 15 in La Paz, halting food and medicine transport and causing shortages, stranded trucks, blocked ambulances and three deaths.
Authorities deployed 3,500 police and military, used tear gas, detained 57 people, and reported $500 million in economic losses, according to the chamber of commerce.

Summary

Miners Protest

About 20 miners entered the presidential palace to meet President Rodrigo Paz and present their demands.
Economy Minister José Gabriel Espinoza convened emergency talks and said the government was open to dialogue.
The miners called for President Paz’s resignation and demanded higher wages, labor-law reforms, greater access to explosives and fuel subsidies.
Officials reported that, despite the repeal decree, protest blockades and strikes continued to disrupt supply chains.

History

Historical Context

The 2003 Bolivian gas conflict, sparked by Sánchez de Lozada’s privatization agenda and ending with martial law on 12 October 2003 and his resignation, showed how nationwide blockades can topple a government. Subsequent 2005 hydrocarbon reforms cemented the link between energy policy and mass protest. President Rodrigo Paz, inaugurated on 8 November 2025, now confronts similar miner and indigenous blockades.

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Paz Faces Protests

President Rodrigo Paz faces protests as Morales supporters march on La Paz demanding his resignation.
Protesters have set up 67 road blockades, including 22 on Monday and 15 in La Paz, halting food and medicine transport and causing shortages, stranded trucks, blocked ambulances and three deaths.
Authorities deployed 3,500 police and military, used tear gas, detained 57 people, and reported $500 million in economic losses, according to the chamber of commerce.

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