Bolivia's new president just reached for one of his more drastic tools. On Saturday, Rodrigo Paz announced a nationwide state of emergency after nearly two months of road blockades and protests over rising prices and a battered economy morphed into a direct push to force him from office, reports CNN. The measures clear the way for the military and police to move against blockades that have choked off food, fuel, and medical supplies and further stalled the economy.
Paz, who took office seven months ago and inherited Bolivia's sharpest downturn in decades, said he called a state of emergency "after exhausting all dialogue" and accused "organized groups" of using violence to destabilize the nation. "This is not a state of emergency to restrict people's lives," Paz said in a televised speech, per Deutsche Welle. "It is a state of emergency to give freedom back to the people, to free Bolivia from those who use political conflict to block roads and harm the population."
Protesters, backed by unions, farmers, and supporters of ex-President Evo Morales, want wage demands and fuel shortages addressed, as well as Paz's resignation. Reuters reports that the move was made just hours after Paz announced a deal with the Bolivian Workers' Confederation, the nation's main union, "that aimed to ease tension." The centrist leader has sought closer ties with Washington, including a proposed $1.5 billion cooperation deal on fuel, and in recent weeks he signed a law allowing the military to intervene in internal conflicts, per CNN.
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