Fury against government still strong in Bolivia

Indigenous Bolivians, workers, miners, teachers and farmers began holding massive demonstrations in early May, which went on for 50 days, demanded wage increases and called for the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz Pereira, elected eight months ago. Angered by Paz’s policies, protesters built 90 barricades surrounding and isolating major Bolivian cities. 

According to Finance Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza, this cost the new government over $4 billion and affected 150,000 city jobs.

By June 23, Paz had declared a state of emergency. He deployed military troops, who have forcibly removed most of the blockades. However, demonstrators in some regions are continuing to maintain roadblocks and resist.

Workers are furious at the Paz administration for reducing fuel and food subsidies, eliminating the wealth tax and trying to privatize Bolivia’s farmland and mining and energy companies. Paz formed his cabinet with conservative business leaders, leaving Indigenous people, workers and rural organizations without representation.

Indigenous peasant movements and other protesters are organizing in stadiums and public plazas. Vicente Choque, national director of the Unified Syndical Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia, reported: “We have gatherings of 5,000 to 20,000 people. … In all sectors there are meetings, assemblies of social organizations, so that we can reorganize ourselves for future mobilizations, because these mobilizations don’t end here.” (Al Jazeera, June 1)

Choque continued: “With this [Paz] government, our country is going to be sold off, our natural resources will be raffled away, our companies privatized, electricity and water prices will rise, absolutely everything. The struggle will continue until we demand the government’s resignation.

“Paz claims the measures he is imposing will strengthen Bolivia’s economy. He’s asking for $3.3 billion from the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and promising to impose reforms. He floated the Boliviano [Bolivian currency], which made its value depreciate 40% to align with the IMF allowing it to fluctuate in response to international events affecting exchange rates.”

Bolivia’s resources, lithium

During the presidency of Evo Morales, from 2006 to 2019, the Movement Towards Socialism party (MAS), led by him, nationalized the oil and natural gas industries and redistributed millions of acres of land to Indigenous families and peasant farmers. Taxes on the multinational companies were increased, and the state secured 51% of their production.

Bolivia has the world’s largest lithium deposits. In 2010, Morales established Bolivia’s state-owned lithium company to maintain sovereignty over its lithium resources. When Morales was forced from office in 2019, MAS blamed the U.S. for driving him out in order to access Bolivia’s lithium reserves. Morales was developing partnerships with China and Russia to gain the capital and technology needed to industrialize.

Since his election in October 2025, Paz has worked to privatize the lithium industry and is pursuing investments from the U.S. and foreign, private companies.