Overview
- President Rodrigo Paz declared a nationwide state of exception on Saturday, June 20, authorizing the armed forces to support police in lifting blockades across Bolivia.
- The government signed an agreement with the Centrale ouvrière bolivienne (COB) that secured promises such as no privatizations and created joint working groups with a 90-day window for progress.
- COB leaders announced a national lifting of pressure measures after the pact, but several peasant federations and Chapare coca-grower groups rejected the deal and said they would continue or harden roadblocks.
- Security forces began operations to clear roads after the decree, the Ombudsman reported more than 100 arrests since protests began, and Parliament had earlier approved legal protections for troops deployed in the operation.
- The protests grew from a deep economic crisis marked by roughly 14% inflation and fuel dependence, and the coming 90 days will determine whether shortages ease or pockets of resistance trigger renewed disruptions and rights scrutiny.