Bolivia: the roots of the political crisis which weakens President Rodrigo Paz

“Out Rodrigo Paz !” Tagged on the walls of the Bolivian administrative capital, the slogan sums up the anger rising in the country, where disparate demands have converged in the streets to transform the protest into an open political crisis against the head of state.

Six months after coming to power, the center-right leader is facing demonstrations demanding his resignation and roadblocks that are suffocating La Paz, in a country facing its worst economic crisis in 40 years.

– What triggered the anger?

Bolivia has depleted its dollar reserves to maintain fuel subsidies. Rodrigo Paz removed this aid. In the process, prices doubled and poor quality gasoline, accused of having damaged thousands of vehicles, fueled the anger of the population. The Bolivians nicknamed it “garbage gasoline”.

Another trigger: the announcement of an agrarian reform intended to facilitate access to credit, but rejected by indigenous farmers, who fear that their land will end up in the hands of banks and then large landowners.

“Certain sectors have adopted radical positions, but others are also mobilizing because they feel frustrated by the expectations that had been raised” Rodrigo Paz, believes Daniel Valverde, professor of political science.

– What are the demonstrators demanding?

Without a single leader, the protest movement grew in May with the mobilization of teachers, workers and miners.

While inflation has reached nearly 20% in 2025, the powerful Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) is demanding a salary increase of the same order, while teachers are demanding a full pension.

“Everyone pulls from their side and responds to certain interests or groups,” underlines researcher Daniela Osorio-Michel.

For political scientist Ana Lucia Velasco, certain sectors are also trying to take advantage of the government’s “errors and blunders” to “gain political capital” within the opposition.

Initially focused on agrarian reform and fuel shortages, the demonstrations gradually evolved into calls for the resignation of the head of state.

– What role does Evo Morales play?

His government, which ended 20 years of socialist governments, accuses former president Evo Morales (2006-2019) of being behind the protests. A march of his supporters arrived in La Paz on Monday.

Targeted by an arrest warrant in an alleged case of trafficking of a minor, Evo Morales, holed up in his political stronghold of Chapare, denounces a supposed plan by Washington aimed at arresting him.

Without mentioning it directly, the United States, which found in Rodrigo Paz a new ally in Latin America, affirmed that Bolivia was facing an attempted “coup d’état” led by “criminals and drug traffickers”.

According to Daniel Valverde, the former cocalero leader is today “very entrenched”. Daniela Osorio-Michel believes that the results of the last election revealed a weakening of her political influence.

– What room for maneuver for the government?

“Once the demands reach the point of calling for a resignation, it is no longer possible to give in. It is above all a war of attrition: it remains to be seen who will wear out first, the government, the citizens or the demonstrators”, estimates Ana Lucia Velasco.

Rodrigo Paz warned on Wednesday that he would not negotiate with “vandals”, but also announced, in an attempt at appeasement, a ministerial reshuffle with the appointment of ministers “capable of listening”.

For Daniela Osorio-Michel, the diversity of the movements mobilized and the absence of clearly identified figures complicate “the government’s ability to engage in dialogue”.