Winning through bullets is not how we do this anymore
En Bolivia, el presidente Rodrigo Paz enfrenta una crisis de veinte días que ha paralizado La Paz y El Alto, sostenida por sindicatos, campesinos y seguidores de Evo Morales que exigen revertir la austeridad y, en algunos casos, su renuncia. Paz ha elegido el diálogo como respuesta, argumentando que la conversación exige más valentía que la fuerza, aunque el Senado ha aprobado silenciosamente una ley que podría otorgarle poderes de emergencia sin aprobación legislativa. Es el momento en que un gobierno joven intenta nacer en medio de décadas de tensiones no resueltas, y la pregunta que flota sobre las calles bloqueadas es si el lenguaje de la paciencia puede sobrevivir a la presión de la historia.
- Veinte días de bloqueos han cortado el suministro de combustible, encarecido la vida cotidiana y puesto al gobierno de Paz contra la pared.
- Una coalición de mineros, transportistas, agricultores y aliados de Morales exige no solo cambios económicos sino la cabeza del presidente.
- Paz apuesta por el diálogo como acto de valentía, rechazando públicamente el uso de la fuerza mientras el país observa si las palabras pueden desactivar las barricadas.
- El Senado aprobó casi sin debate una ley que elimina los controles constitucionales sobre las declaraciones de emergencia, armando al presidente con poderes que dice no querer usar.
- Paz asegura que las marchas se han calmado y que los llamados a su renuncia pierden fuerza, aunque la brecha entre dos visiones del Estado boliviano sigue abierta y sin respuesta.
Veinte días después de que Bolivia comenzara a paralizarse, el presidente Rodrigo Paz concedió una entrevista a CNN con un mensaje que podría sonar ingenuo ante las calles bloqueadas de La Paz y El Alto: no usaría la fuerza. Dialogaría.
Lo que empezó como protestas sectoriales por la austeridad y el costo de vida se convirtió en una coalición amplia de sindicatos, mineros, campesinos y transportistas, muchos leales a Evo Morales, exigiendo que Paz revierta sus políticas económicas y, en algunos casos, renuncie. Durante tres semanas, los bloqueos asfixiaron al país.
Sin embargo, Paz fue categórico: "Ganar a balazos ya no es así", dijo, reencuadrando la contención como valentía y no como debilidad. Pero mientras hablaba de diálogo, el Senado aprobaba casi en silencio una ley que elimina los controles constitucionales sobre las declaraciones de emergencia. Si la cámara baja la ratifica, Paz podría decretar un estado de excepción sin permiso del Congreso. Las herramientas para escalar se ensamblaban discretamente.
Cuando se le preguntó directamente sobre los poderes de emergencia, Paz respondió con cautela legal: la Constitución lo permitía, y quienes rechazaran negociar encontrarían sus límites. Era una advertencia envuelta en formalismo.
Paz lleva seis meses en el cargo, habiendo ganado una segunda vuelta a finales de 2025. Heredó un país fracturado entre quienes defienden las estructuras del Estado de la era Morales y quienes empujan hacia otra visión. "Es un parto muy difícil", dijo, "pero vamos por el camino correcto".
Afirmó ver señales de distensión: la última marcha había sido más tranquila y los llamados a su renuncia perdían fuerza en la retórica. Si eso reflejaba un avance real o pensamiento optimista era difícil de saber. Lo cierto es que bajo la calma de sus palabras yacen agravios acumulados durante dos décadas, problemas que el gobierno anterior dejó intactos y que ahora reclaman respuesta a un presidente que intenta trazar un nuevo rumbo mientras el país arde.
Twenty days into a crisis that has paralyzed Bolivia's two largest cities, President Rodrigo Paz sat down with CNN to make a case that might sound naive to anyone watching the streets of La Paz and El Alto grind to a halt. He would not use force. He would not declare emergency powers, at least not yet. He would talk.
The protests had started small in early May—sectoral complaints about austerity, fuel shortages, the rising cost of living. But they had metastasized into something larger: a coalition of unions, miners, farmers, and transport workers, many of them loyal to former president Evo Morales, demanding that Paz reverse his economic policies and, in some cases, step down entirely. For three weeks, blockades had choked the country. The government was under siege, and Paz knew it.
Yet in the interview, he was adamant. "Winning through bullets is not how we do this anymore," he said, rejecting the notion that his administration would respond with military force. He went further, arguing that dialogue required more courage than confrontation, that the path of conversation was actually the braver choice. It was a striking rhetorical move—reframing restraint as strength rather than weakness.
But the political ground beneath him was shifting. The Senate had just voted, almost without warning, to strip away constitutional safeguards on emergency declarations. The law that had governed such measures since 2020—the one that required legislative approval, set time limits, and established accountability mechanisms—was being repealed. If the lower chamber approved the change, Paz would have the power to declare a state of exception without asking permission from Congress. The tools for escalation were being quietly assembled even as the president spoke about dialogue.
When asked directly about invoking emergency powers, Paz gave a careful answer. The Constitution allowed for it, he said. Those who refused to negotiate would find themselves up against constitutional limits. It was a warning wrapped in legalism, a reminder that his patience, however genuine, had boundaries.
Paz had been in office for six months, having won a runoff election in late 2025. He inherited a country fractured between those who wanted to preserve Morales-era state structures and those pushing for a different vision of governance. The current upheaval, he suggested, was almost inevitable—a collision between a past that would not release its grip and a future trying to be born. "This is a very difficult birth," he said. "It's hard, but we're on the right path."
He also claimed to see signs of softening. The most recent march had been calmer, he noted. The demand for his resignation, once central to the protests, was fading from the rhetoric. Whether this reflected genuine momentum or wishful thinking remained unclear. What was certain was that beneath the surface calm of his words lay unresolved grievances accumulated over two decades—problems the previous government had simply left untouched, problems that now demanded attention from a president trying to chart a new course while the country burned.
Notable Quotes
The only way to win today is not through bullets. Dialogue is much braver than armed confrontation.— President Rodrigo Paz, in interview with CNN
This is a very difficult birth. It's hard, but we're on the right path.— President Paz, describing the political transition and current crisis
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When you say dialogue is braver than force, what do you mean by that? Isn't force sometimes the faster solution?
Paz isn't arguing that dialogue is faster. He's saying it's harder because it requires you to actually listen, to move on the things people are demanding. Force is simpler—you give an order, people comply or they don't. Dialogue means you have to change something.
But the Senate just gave him the power to declare emergency rule without asking Congress. That doesn't sound like someone betting everything on conversation.
No, it doesn't. It sounds like someone keeping a gun on the table while saying he won't use it. The law passed almost without warning. That's not accidental. It's a message to the protesters: we're serious about dialogue, but we have options.
Do you think the protests are actually softening, like he claims?
He's seeing what he wants to see. The resignation demands may have quieted, but the underlying demands—reverse austerity, fix fuel supplies, address twenty years of neglect—those haven't gone anywhere. He's calling it a birth, but it feels more like a standoff.
What happens if dialogue fails?
Then he uses the tools the Senate just handed him. And the country finds out whether dialogue was ever really the plan, or just the opening move.