Bolivia edges deeper into crisis as demonstrators vow to target military facilities

Bolivia's deepening political crisis has taken another volatile turn after farmers' unions and coca growers in the country's Cochabamba Tropics threatened to seize military and police facilities in protest against a newly enacted law governing states of emergency.

The warning comes as Bolivia enters the sixth week of nationwide unrest, with road blockades, violent clashes and growing calls for the resignation of conservative President Rodrigo Paz, as El Pais reports.

According to local media, social organizations in Cochabamba argue that the Law on the Regulation of States of Emergency, signed on June 8, is designed to criminalize protests and gives authorities broader powers to crack down on demonstrators.

Bolivia's main labour federation, peasant organizations and Indigenous groups from the highlands — angered by Paz's decision to scrap fuel subsidies and frustrated by his inability to resolve the country's worsening economic crisis during his first seven months in office — have established around 90 roadblocks on major highways, effectively isolating several cities, including the administrative capital La Paz and neighbouring El Alto.

Although Paz has sought negotiations with protest leaders and called for restraint in the use of force by security services, demonstrators have largely rejected dialogue, insisting that nothing short of the president's resignation will satisfy their demands. Paz's election last year ended nearly two decades of uninterrupted rule by the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), the party founded by former president Evo Morales.

Tensions escalated further after Mario Rivera, Secretary for external relations of one of the protesting federations, told local media that the new legislation poses a direct threat to social movements. According to local reports, Rivera warned that grassroots organizations were prepared to respond if authorities attempted to enforce the law in the region.

Rivera also cautioned that protest organizers would not be responsible for the safety of police officers or military personnel should security forces move to dismantle roadblocks or disperse demonstrators by force.

The government has defended the legislation, saying it merely establishes the legal procedures, scope and limits for declaring states of emergency under Bolivia's Constitution. Officials insist the law is intended to restore public order and freedom of movement while respecting human rights and note that it has not yet been invoked.

Violence has nevertheless intensified. Late on June 8, police units attempting to clear the highway linking Cochabamba with La Paz reported being targeted with dynamite attacks, while protesters allegedly triggered landslides to block the advance of security forces.

The nationwide blockade campaign is being led primarily by the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), trade unions, Indigenous organizations and farming groups aligned with former president Evo Morales.

The disruption has caused severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies in several parts of the country, with some communities facing what local officials have described as a humanitarian emergency.

Bolivia's Ombudsman's Office says at least 10 people have died since the protests began, with most of the fatalities involving patients who were unable to receive timely medical treatment or be transported because roads had been blocked.

By Nazrin Sadigova