Overview
- President Rodrigo Paz announced the state of emergency on Saturday after a Friday agreement with the main union, directing the armed forces to support police in removing roadblocks that had choked supply lines.
- The decree bans blocking roads that affect transportation and supplies and can run for up to 90 days pending a congressional review that must be held within 72 hours.
- Authorities reported the day after the decree that no active blockades remained in many areas but police and military forces stayed deployed and some Morales‑aligned rural groups did not join the union deal.
- The protests and blockades have produced severe human costs, with at least 17 deaths linked to disrupted medical access, roughly 365 arrests, shortages of fuel, food and medicines, and damaged transport and businesses.
- The unrest began after Paz cut long‑standing fuel subsidies as part of austerity measures tied to a dollar shortage and IMF talks, and the emergency raises rights and accountability questions while deepening political polarisation.