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Defense, Education Ministers Quit Over State-of-Exception Decree

6/3/2026

Summary

Ministers Resign Amid Protests

Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas and Education Minister Beatriz García resigned on Tuesday after refusing to sign a decree creating a state of exception.
Their resignations came as protests entered their 33rd day, led by the Central Obrera Boliviana and peasant groups in La Paz, demanding President Rodrigo Paz’s ouster.
The government is weighing the decree to permit military action against more than 90 road blockades recorded in eight regions.

Summary

Justiniano Named Defense

Ernesto Justiniano was appointed Defense Minister after the United States (U.S.) embassy instructed President Rodrigo Paz to make the change.
He will oversee a security operation in the Tropic of Cochabamba, a political base of president Evo Morales.
During a U.S. visit, Justiniano secured anti-drug support, including an agreement that allows the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to return to Bolivia.
Education Minister Beatriz García resigned without explanation, leaving no replacement announced.

Summary

Assembly lifts limits

Legislative Assembly, dominated by right-wing parties, repealed limits on declaring a state of exception, expanding authority to deploy the military.
U.S. State Department urged Bolivia to declare martial law to suppress anti-neoliberal strikes.
Labor Minister Edgar Morales resigned on May 21 after pressure from the COB and unions.
Road blockades in western Bolivia have crippled transport, causing shortages of food, medicine and fuel in La Paz and prompting protesters to demand President Rodrigo Paz’s resignation.

Summary

Roca Flags Losses

El Alto mayor Eliser Roca said highway blockades cost the city $6.5 million and cripple transport for 2 million residents of La Paz and El Alto, deepening food, medicine and fuel shortages.
President Rodrigo Paz entered office pledging foreign private investment in mining, hydrocarbons, lithium and energy, and in April appointed former vice-minister Marcelo Blanco as energy minister.
Bolivia faces fuel shortages and dwindling foreign-currency reserves, which the president attributes to a dollar shortage.

History

Historical Context

The 2003 Bolivian gas war saw President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada impose martial law on 12 October, authorizing troops that left roughly 80 dead and forced his resignation a week later. That crisis showed how emergency decrees can trigger cabinet turnover, a pattern echoed today as Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas and Education Minister Beatriz García step down amid renewed unrest.

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Ministers Resign Amid Protests

Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas and Education Minister Beatriz García resigned on Tuesday after refusing to sign a decree creating a state of exception.
Their resignations came as protests entered their 33rd day, led by the Central Obrera Boliviana and peasant groups in La Paz, demanding President Rodrigo Paz’s ouster.
The government is weighing the decree to permit military action against more than 90 road blockades recorded in eight regions.

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