Laura Gamba Fadul
09 June 2026•Update: 09 June 2026
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz signed a law Monday regulating states of emergency, expanding his executive authority to potentially deploy the military to dismantle crippling, weeks-long highway blockades paralyzing the country.
The Law on the Regulation of States of Emergency was fast-tracked through the legislature, securing final approval from the Chamber of Deputies early Sunday morning following a 15-hour overnight session. The statute establishes a formal legal framework for implementing emergency measures during acute internal unrest. While it assigns the primary enforcement role to the police, it critically authorizes targeted, supportive deployments of the Armed Forces to clear transit chokepoints.
Marking seven months in office Monday, Paz used a press conference to justify the security expansion, directly linking the unrest to criminal destabilization.
“Security is threatened when narcoterrorism and the priorities of certain sectors hostile to our democracy, our Constitution and free development place their own interests above those of Bolivian society,” he declared.
Flanked by his Cabinet and top military brass, he maintained that the legislation’s core rationale is “to defend the vast majority from those who want to attack us and disrupt this democratic process.”
While he emphasized that institutional dialogue remains his priority, Paz remained defiant regarding his political mandate, reassuring the public that he intends to complete his full term through 2030.
Under Bolivian law, if Paz issues a formal state of emergency decree using these new powers, the Legislative Assembly must review and vote to approve or reject the measure within a 72-hour window.
Bolivia has been gripped by an unyielding standoff led by major labor syndicates alongside powerful political factions loyal to former President Evo Morales. Protesters are demanding a sweeping list of economic adjustments, but their chief mandate has unified around a single ultimatum: the immediate resignation of President Paz.
What began as localized agrarian and labor disputes has metastasized into an organized siege. More than 90 active highway blockades have disrupted supply lines. The administrative capital region is currently enduring acute deficits of food, fuel and vital medical supplies, including liquid oxygen.
According to the country's human rights ombudsman, the gridlock has already turned tragic, causing at least seven deaths due to delayed medical care and emergency transit blockages.
The deepening domestic crisis has reverberated internationally. On Sunday, Paz publicly responded to an official message of solidarity from US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, utilizing the US social media platform X to signal his administration's democratic legitimacy.
"Bolivia defends its democracy through its institutions, through dialogue, and with the support of its people," Paz posted. "We will always address just demands, but we will not allow narcoterrorist interests to act to destabilize and destroy the democracy that we worked so hard to build."
