Bolivia showed signs of returning to normality on Sunday after President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency to end a 50-day social crisis that had paralysed transport networks across the country.
Bolivia’s emergency decree has moved the country into a new phase after weeks of road blockades disrupted supplies of food, fuel and medicines.
President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency to restore transit and allow police and military forces to clear blocked routes. The measure comes after more than six weeks of unrest that placed heavy pressure on major cities, including La Paz and El Alto.
The move coincided with signs that tensions were beginning to ease.
In Santa Cruz department, authorities and protest leaders reached an agreement to lift a major blockade in San Julian, a key transport hub. Meanwhile, a prominent campesino federation in La Paz said it would suspend its protests, while stressing that its demands remained unresolved.
Bolivia’s highway authority reported a reduction in protest-related blockades on major roads. Officials, however, warned that clean-up and repair work would be needed before normal transit could fully resume in damaged areas.
The crisis began after Paz, who took office in November, moved to cut long-standing fuel subsidies as part of efforts to reduce the budget deficit, amid a worsening shortage of U.S. dollars and talks with the International Monetary Fund.
Although the government later introduced measures to stabilise fuel prices and reversed controversial land reforms, the demonstrations widened.
Trade unions and social organisations demanded higher wages, solutions to fuel and currency shortages, and, eventually, Paz’s resignation.
Police and military personnel remain deployed in parts of the country. The reduction in protests has raised hopes that the crisis may be entering a less confrontational phase.
But analysts and legal experts warn that emergency powers alone may not resolve the deeper economic and social grievances behind the unrest.
The easing of tensions coincided with celebrations marking the Andean-Amazonian New Year, an important cultural event observed by indigenous communities across Bolivia.
At ceremonies held nationwide, government officials and indigenous representatives appealed for reconciliation and national unity.
Speaking at an event in La Paz, Tourism Minister Cinthya Yanez expressed hope that prosperity and abundance would return to the country, and that Bolivians would once again join hands after weeks of disruption and division.
Monday marks the second of two days of national mourning in Poland as police bolstered security after six people were killed in a mass sh...
Global temperatures are projected to rise by up to 2.8°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100 under current climate policies, according to a Uni...
Clashes between protesters and police erupted in Paris and Marseille on Saturday as demonstrations over rising living costs and declining public se...
Poland has declared two days of national mourning after a gunman opened fire in Kraków's historic main square. Investigators are examining possible far-right influences and the discovery of three bodies at the suspect's home.
Monday marks the second of two days of national mourning in Poland as police bolstered security after six people were killed in a mass shooting in Kraków.
Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv early on Saturday, 7 November, injuring two people and damaging residential buildings, just three days before U.S.-led peace talks with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-aligned group towards Riyadh on Sunday (8 November), after loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital. The Aramco building was damaged by falling debris.
New Zealand’s ruling centre-right National Party has taken a narrow lead over the opposition Labour Party in Saturday’s general election, with the country’s current three-party coalition projected to retain power.
Monday marks the second of two days of national mourning in Poland as police bolstered security after six people were killed in a mass shooting in Kraków.
Clashes between protesters and police erupted in Paris and Marseille on Saturday as demonstrations over rising living costs and declining public services continued for a fourth consecutive weekend across France.
Security measures have been stepped up in Antalya, Türkiye, ahead of the COP31 United Nations climate summit, which begins on Monday, 9 November, with thousands of additional personnel deployed across the Mediterranean city.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dismissed a new U.S. military operation targeting the movement of weapons and sanctioned materials on Sunday, 8 November, saying Washington would fail to isolate the Iranian economy despite expanding restrictions on maritime and land routes.
A Russian overnight attack on energy infrastructure in Ukraine's eastern Dnipropetrovsk region left more than 600,000 people without electricity on Sunday, 8 November, Ukrainian energy company DTEK said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment