Bolivia promulga ley de estados de excepción mientras protestas alcanzan sexta semana

Bolivia's president signed an emergency law on Monday that gives the military explicit authority to intervene in the protests and roadblocks that have strangled the country for more than six weeks. Rodrigo Paz stood in La Paz surrounded by cabinet ministers and military commanders to announce the Ley de Regulación de Estados de Excepción—a framework that establishes when and how armed forces can move against demonstrators blocking highways and disrupting commerce across multiple regions. He called it a watershed moment, necessary to protect citizens from what he characterized as narcoterrorism linked to drug trafficking networks. The law itself does not automatically trigger a state of exception; that would require a separate presidential decree. But Paz made clear his administration has already coordinated operational plans between police and military units, and he urged them to act with both professionalism and resolve.

The president invoked the recent capture and extradition of Sebastián Marset, a major trafficking figure handed over to the United States in March, as evidence that his government would enforce constitutional order. He also blamed former president Evo Morales for stoking the unrest from his stronghold in the Chapare region, where clashes between protesters and police intensified over the weekend. Paz has now been in office seven months, a tenure marked almost entirely by escalating conflict. The blockades and marches show no sign of stopping. The Federación de Campesinos Tupac Katari and the Central Obrera Boliviana—the country's main labor confederation—have made clear they will not negotiate. They argue that Paz's government has frozen out the very constituencies that backed his 2025 election campaign, and they view his economic reforms as a prelude to privatization and utility rate hikes, charges the administration denies.

Three cabinet ministers have resigned in recent weeks: the ministers of labor, education, and defense. The defense portfolio went to Ernesto Justiniano, who until days before had headed the country's antidrug operations. The government attempted two joint police-military operations in May to open humanitarian corridors for food and medicine shipments to western Bolivia, but both descended into violence. On Saturday in San Julián, in Santa Cruz department, a third attempt to clear blockades left six police officers wounded, four of them shot. The security forces withdrew.

At least ten people have died since the crisis began. Seven lost their lives because they could not reach medical care—hospitals and clinics cut off by the blockades. Three others died in protest-related violence, including a man shot during a clearance operation whose death remains under investigation. The economic toll has become staggering. The National Chamber of Industries estimates accumulated losses at more than $2.1 billion, deepening an economic crisis that has gripped Bolivia since 2023.

On Sunday, according to the Central Obrera Boliviana, five union leaders were detained by armed individuals in civilian clothes and face masks who intercepted their vehicle without displaying arrest warrants. The detainees were subdued with tear gas and taken to the headquarters of the FELCC, the special police unit tasked with organized crime, the labor confederation says. No formal police report justifying the detention has been produced, the COB claims, calling the operation a kidnapping. The organization has demanded their release. As Paz consolidates his legal authority to deploy the military, the ground remains volatile—police wounded, union leaders missing, and no visible path toward negotiation. The law is now in place. What comes next depends on whether Paz issues the decree that would formally activate it.