LatinNews Daily - 22 June 2026

*Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz has decreed a state of exception and deployed troops to clear roadblocks that have ground much of the country to a halt since mid-May in an attempt to force his resignation. Flanked by his cabinet ministers, Paz said on 20 June that he has “instructed the Bolivian police and the armed forces to carry out the necessary actions to re-establish freedom of movement”. He said that “to those who are still manning barricades, I say this to you clearly: there’s still time to voluntarily desist – if you have legitimate demands, the doors of dialogue will remain open as they have been since day one”. He said that violence by protesters will be punished “with the full rigour of the law and all the legitimate force that the constitution and democracy grant the state to protect its citizens”. Paz’s decree declaring the state of exception was then approved by the legislative assembly with more than a two-thirds majority. Local media reported that the emergency measures will last for a maximum of 90 days. Paz has for weeks faced growing pressure from congress and the business community to mobilise the armed forces to clear the roadblocks, but had hitherto refrained from doing so amid warnings from former president Evo Morales (2006-2019) that it could send the death toll soaring. The minister for government, Marco Antonio Oviedo, emphasised on 20 June that the decree has “national reach” and that the armed forces would not hesitate to “intervene” in Morales’ stronghold of Chapare, Cochabamba department, from where he has played a key role in inciting the unrest.

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