Overview
- President Rodrigo Paz declared a 90‑day state of emergency Saturday after he signed a partial agreement with the Bolivian Workers’ Confederation the previous day.
- The decree bans road blockades that disrupt supplies and orders the armed forces to temporarily support police in restoring roads while the president must notify Congress within 24 hours and lawmakers have up to 72 hours to approve or reject the order.
- Many rural and Indigenous federations that backed former president Evo Morales were not part of the COB talks and continue to hold key routes, especially around Cochabamba, prolonging shortages of fuel, food and medicine and leaving reported deaths and arrests tied to transport disruptions.
- Lawmakers in May removed prior limits on emergency decrees and authorized military roles in internal security, a change that enabled this action and has raised human‑rights and accountability concerns even as the United States has publicly offered logistical and emergency support to Paz’s government.
- What to watch next: whether Congress validates the decree, whether security operations can reopen supply lines without major clashes, and whether excluded rural groups join negotiations or intensify pressure that could widen the humanitarian toll.