Overview
- Bolivia's Chamber of Deputies passed the emergency-powers bill after an overnight debate, sending legislation that expands state-of-emergency rules to President Rodrigo Paz for signature.
- The law formally allows soldiers to be deployed to remove roadblocks and grants them a 'presumption of legality,' meaning their actions are presumed lawful unless proven otherwise.
- Tensions have continued on the ground, with police and army vehicles clashing with protesters in San Julián on Saturday when officers fired tear gas and two officers were wounded by gunfire.
- About 100 roadblocks by miners, transport and rural groups have disrupted supply chains, producing acute shortages of food, medicine and fuel in cities such as La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba, Oruro and Potosí.
- The government has accused former president Evo Morales of fomenting unrest and received backing from the Shield of the Americas alliance, raising the risk of deeper polarization and more forceful security responses.