For two months now, mass protests against the neoliberal and anti-social policies of newly appointed President Rodrigo Paz have been ongoing in Bolivia, escalating into a genuine popular uprising. --- The uprisings are spiraling out of control of the bureaucratic leadership of trade unions, peasants, and indigenous organizations. They are accompanied by blockades of key roads, marches using dynamite, clashes with the regime's repressive forces, and the creation of armed self-defense groups.
The trigger for the social upheaval was Law No. 1720, developed in consultation with agribusiness leaders in the Santa Cruz region and signed by Paz on April 10. This law authorized the consolidation of small rural plots, opening the door to their mortgages, sales, and acquisitions by large corporations. It aims to re-concentrate land in the hands of a few. In Santa Cruz alone, approximately 7,000 plots, totaling 1.7 million hectares, could have been converted into medium-sized agribusinesses.
The reaction came from below, without any leaders to sanction it. Amazonian Indians marched from Pando for 24 days from April 14, protesting the law because it favored business owners and landowners. The protesters openly invoked the tradition of the Indian leader Tupac Katari: besieging the city of La Paz as a method of resistance. They were joined by the Bolivian Workers' Center (BRC), rural teachers, peasant federations, and indigenous organizations. The state, as usual, made only partial concessions. On May 9, parliament repealed Law 1720. But the protests did not stop (https://bibliotecadigitalbdela.blogspot.com/2026/05/bolivia-en-la-encrucijada-seguir.html).
On May 1, the BRC announced an indefinite general strike, also demanding a 20% wage increase, improved fuel supplies, a ban on privatization and changes to labor laws, higher pensions, and an end to any measures criminalizing protests ( https://amerika21.de/2026/05/285100/cob-generalstreik-forderungen ). Since the authorities refused to budge and began repressing protesters and making arrests, another demand was added to the list: the unconditional resignation of neoliberal President Rodrigo Paz.
"Dozens of checkpoints on the strategic routes connecting La Paz with Cochabamba, Oruro and the border crossings in Chile and Peru are steadily increasing, despite the monstrous repression by the police, military units and hired thugs, to which the proletariat is responding with real organized class violence" (https://materialesxlaemancipacion.espivblogs.net/2026/06/04/bolivia-en-la-encrucijada-de-la-insurreccion-y-la-contrarrevolucion/ )
The authorities resorted to the tried-and-true tactic of "divide and conquer." In an attempt to end the road blockades that had disrupted supplies across the country and caused enormous damage to the capitalist economy, they attempted to negotiate individually with the bureaucratic leaders of individual protest groups. The government of the incompetent Rodrigo Paz rushed to conclude agreements to split the movement and made concessions to some protest groups. It negotiated with miners' cooperatives, writing off a 95 million boliviano debt to the National Health Fund and maintaining fuel subsidies. It also negotiated with the teachers' union and the Bolivian Workers' Center of El Alto and signed an agreement with the leaders of the Red Ponchos of La Paz. These sectors gradually withdrew from the conflict. It was clear that some rank-and-file members had disowned their leaders for signing the agreements" ( https://materialesxlaemancipacion.espivblogs.net/2026/06/04/bolivia-en-la-encrucijada-de-la-insurreccion-y-la-contrarrevolucion/).
Negotiations between the authorities and the BRC leaders have been resumed several times. Orders for their arrest were sometimes issued, then reversed. Union leaders, as usual, are behaving inconsistently. They have repeatedly suspended their participation in blockades and disrupted one meeting to discuss new protests. There is a huge risk that the BRC "leaders" will betray the protest, just as they "betrayed" the previous general strike in February against the abolition of fuel subsidies. However, grassroots groups of popular protest and rebellion do not intend to submit to the bureaucrats of the BRC and other organizations. They have created numerous self-organized committees and are convening self-organized assemblies (cabildos), where they are making decisions on continuing the struggle and the popular uprising of workers and peasants (https://materialesxlaemancipacion.espivblogs.net/2026/06/04/bolivia-en-la-encrucijada-de-la-insurreccion-y-la-contrarrevolucion/).
On June 7, the Bolivian parliament passed a state of emergency law authorizing the use of the army against blockade participants. Armed crackdowns began, with gangs formed by the authorities participating. Protesters resisted. Despite the repression, blockades and marches continued. On June 10, under threat of a general uprising, the authorities effectively abandoned the implementation of the state of emergency law.
On June 12, the situation in El Alto, a working-class suburb of La Paz with 800,000 residents, escalated further. Three mass marches descended on the city. Blockades made any interprovincial movement virtually impossible. In El Alto's 7th District, residents protested against city officials who were secretly negotiating with the government despite lacking a mandate to do so. They declared that these officials no longer represented the people. Also in El Alto, in the Casa Amarilla neighborhood (on the road to Laja), a group of local residents intercepted, beat, and stripped naked police officers from the Special Anti-Violence Squad who were attempting to break the blockade and arrest activists. The officers were detained, stripped, sent back in their underwear, and their uniforms and vehicles were burned. Striking truck drivers, who had overthrown their union leaders, warned of the possibility of even more radical actions against the government. In the city of Sucre, when police arrived to remove the blockade, they were forced to flee, confronted by the protesters' determination. The Huanini miners, members of the BRC union, declared their readiness to blockade La Paz and called on BRC management to issue a call to action. The indigenous organization "Red Ponchos" decided to escalate the struggle. Another organization, the "Sons of Tomás Katari," declared its presence in La Paz until Rodrigo Paz's resignation.
On June 12, 2026, numerous self-organized assemblies were held, all of which reaffirmed the need for continued struggle and coordination, demanding unity and calling for regional general assemblies. The most important of these took place in Pucarani, where the province of Los Andes (one of 20 provinces in the department of La Paz, located along Lake Titicaca and north of La Paz) convened a unified cabildo. Given the critical situation facing the country, grassroots movements adopted radical and immediate pressure measures. The main resolutions of the Pucarani Cabildo, reflecting decisions being taken elsewhere, were:
- Immediate demand: Unconditional and unconditional freedom for all those arrested and detained.
- Demand for resignation: "We demand the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz and his cabinet."
- Mass struggle: 23 agricultural unions and 21 women's unions, led by Bartolina Sisa, have begun blocking roads and occupying government buildings. Water and electricity supplies will be cut off until the government resigns!
- Enough of the criminalization of our traditional clothing and the violation of the Constitution and labor laws.
- Warning to union leaders: any negotiations with the government are prohibited. Any leader who betrays the rank and file of the union will be punished.
- Regional unity: all 20 provinces are called upon to blockade La Paz. We give 24 hours to increase pressure.
- Deadline for El Alto sectors: We are giving the 14 districts of El Alto, the mining sector, the transportation sector and the judicial sector 24 hours to join the movement.
- To the local authorities: mayors, municipal councillors and members of parliament from the 19th arrondissement must stand up for their villages or they will be thrown out immediately.
- To the forces of "order": We call on the police and military to fight on the side of the people.
- Slogan: PERMANENT BLOCKADE! The province of Los Andes does not surrender. The struggle continues until Rodrigo Paz resigns.
On June 14, the Viacha peasant cabildo in Camacho Province decided to maintain and strengthen blockades at various points and on rural roads in the municipality, with the participation of the Viacha municipal administration, the organizations Tupac Katari and SIMACO, and representatives. During the meeting, the mobilized groups decided to continue their pressure tactics, blocking roads with trenches and maintaining a constant presence on main access roads in support of social and political demands being put forward in various regions of the country. Those present solidified a collective commitment to continue protests until the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz, which would further increase political and social tensions in the highlands of La Paz. They also warned that mobilization would intensify in the coming days. The blockades in the province are being implemented on the La Paz-Copacabana highway and are planned to be indefinite. "Unity is our greatest strength. We cannot afford to be divided while our rights are violated and our territories suffer," provincial representatives stated. They also called on social organizations, communities and sectors from different regions of the country to join the protests in order to increase pressure and ensure that the will of the people prevails ( https://www.resumenlatinoamericano.org/2026/06/14/bolivia-los-campesinos-radicalizaran-los-bloqueos-y-seguiran-exigiendo-la-renuncia-de-paz/ )
Authorities claimed they had reduced the number of blockades in recent days through negotiations and agreements, particularly in the Sucre and Potosi districts. However, protesters deny these reports and intend to intensify their struggle. On June 14, BRC leaders planned to hold a national meeting to discuss resuming negotiations with the government, but were unable to do so. They were greeted with whistles and insults from demonstrators at the entrance to the building.
The betrayal of the BRC leadership only heightens the movement's need for self-organization and grassroots coordination. Several general assembliescabildoswere held that same day. New ones convened on June 15, including in El Alto. Tellingly, calls came from the grassroots of the BRC trade unions, condemning any betrayal by the union's leadership and calling for an intensified and expanded protest and blockade movement, leading to the fall of the government. Several assemblies issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the authorities to resign. Otherwise, the protesters threatened to surround or "take" the country's de facto capital, La Paz.
https://aitrus.info/node/6373
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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