Bolivia’s Defence Minister has resigned amid widening unrest over government austerity measures, which have led to protesters blocking roads into the country’s two largest cities.Â
Marcelo Salinas stepped down on Tuesday (2 June) two officials said, following a month of demonstrations against reforms introduced by centrist President Rodrigo Paz.
Salinas is the most senior government figure to resign so far as a result of the protests, which have led to roads being blocked for a fortnight and triggered food and medical shortages across the country.
Education Minister Beatriz Garcia also resigned on Tuesday evening, local media reported.
Eliser Roca, mayor of El Alto, Bolivia’s second largest city, has said it was losing around $6.5 million a day due to blockades. He urged protesters to talk with the government, and noted that small business owners were suffering.
"Many families live day to day ... they also have the right to eat," he said.
President Paz last week took steps towards declaring a state of emergency that could lead to troops being sent into the streets in an attempt to restore order.
Protesters, including labor unions, teachers and indigenous and rural groups loyal to former leftist President Evo Morales, are demanding Paz resign. Demonstrators also want the government to roll back austerity measures and address rising living costs.
Bolivian Minister of the Presidency Jose Luis Lupo in an interview with Reuters last week ruled out any possibility of Paz resigning and said calls for the President to step down were "anti-democratic."
Paz was elected on the promise to open the country of 12.7 million up to foreign private investments in mining, hydrocarbons and lithium after nearly two decades of leftist rule, mostly under Morales.
He took office as Bolivia contended with its worst economic crisis in decades, acute shortages of fuel and dwindling foreign currency reserves.
But spending cuts and fuel subsidy reductions he introduced have proved unpopular with certain sections of the country.
He is currently preparing a reform package for Congress that includes gradually lifting fuel price controls and measures to boost domestic energy production and investment.
Earlier in May, President Paz announced he would reorganise his cabinet in the wake of the protests. Labour Minister Edgar Morales stepped down in the shakeup, alleging a lack of understanding with Paz.
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