After several weeks of protests, Bolivia’s right-wing President Rodrigo Paz told the press that the serious social crisis the country has been facing for nearly a month “is reaching a breaking point.”
“The country needs order, and this is reaching a breaking point … Time is running out. We call for dialogue,” said Paz, under mounting pressure from social movements that seem to be giving the government no respite.
Protests erupted after the government attempted to pass a law that would repeal the exemption of land from seizure – a right won by farmers to prevent the loss of their primary source of livelihood due to debt or any other circumstances.
Paz defended the decision, saying it would allow the poorest Bolivians to access credit, although the opposition saw the law as a mechanism to hand over land to large national and international capital interests.
Bolivia is a country rich in natural resources, such as natural gas, zinc, silver, lead, tin, gold, oil, as well as lithium, for which the country holds the world’s largest reserves – a fact that has attracted the attention of major technology companies. Together with Argentina and Chile, Bolivia forms the so-called “lithium triangle,” a strategic zone for large technology firms.
Following the harsh crackdown, farmers, teachers, students, Indigenous people, and other groups of citizens joined the protests, demanding improvements in their conditions. In the face of the Paz government’s harsh response, the demands for greater rights quickly turned into a unanimous call: “Paz must resign!”
The government has been reluctant to step aside. On the contrary, it has sought international support, particularly from the US, its main ally, as well as from other right-wing governments in the region.
More power to Paz
However, faced with the strength of the protests, which show no signs of diminishing in intensity or mobilization capacity, Paz has also decided to consolidate more power to confront an opposition that has blocked several key roads and clashed violently with law enforcement.
In fact, on May 26, Congress repealed a law that placed limits on the president’s ability to declare states of emergency. Following the same approach as Bukele in El Salvador and Noboa in Ecuador, Paz appears to have found in states of emergency a new way to more easily call upon the military to address his problems.
According to politicians close to Paz, the measure aims to streamline social control mechanisms and prevent impunity for violent groups. This was expressed by Carlos Alarcón, who argues that the new rule prevents “violent groups that claim to represent the people” from evading the law.
However, other opposition lawmakers believe the decision will only further fuel the protests. According to center-right representative Edwin Valda, of the Christian Democratic Party, the measure will lead to “greater violence,” while leaving the social groups that are protesting “unprotected”.
The UN expresses concern and calls for respect for human rights
For its part, the United Nations expressed concern over the situation in Bolivia. In a statement, its Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that rising tensions could lead to an even more severe crisis.
“All actions by security forces must strictly comply with international human rights law. Any use of force by law enforcement officials must be consistent with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, precaution, and non-discrimination. Any allegation or reasonable suspicion of unlawful use of force or other human rights violations by these officials must be investigated effectively, impartially, and in a timely manner,” the UN Human Rights Office reported.
Regarding the greater authority that Paz now has to declare states of emergency, the UN Human Rights Office reminded the government that its obligations to international human rights laws “remain in force”. The Office also called on “the authorities and the mobilized sectors to prioritize dialogue and adopt de-escalation measures. It is urgent to prevent further violence and seek peaceful and democratic solutions.”
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