Why did Bolivia declare a state of emergency during the protests? US Defense Chief Pete Hegseth Warns ‘The United States Is Watching’ | Today’s news

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on Saturday, giving the military expanded powers to clear road blockades that have severely disrupted fuel and food supplies in the capital and other major cities, the AP reported.

Over the past five weeks, widespread protests have demanded his resignation in response to the government’s austerity measures, including the removal of fuel subsidies and other economic reforms. The unrest led to violent clashes between protesters, some of whom reportedly used dynamite, and riot police. The violence resulted in at least 365 arrests and 37 injuries, according to authorities.

At least 17 people have died, most of them linked to inadequate medical care caused by traffic problems, Bolivia’s ombudsman’s office and a human rights organization said.

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Barricades erected on key roads have effectively isolated the city of La Paz, causing fuel and food shortages, paralyzing traffic and preventing patients from reaching hospitals — causing at least seven deaths due to a lack of medical care, the government says, as reported by the AP.

“This is not a state of emergency to limit people’s lives. It is a state of emergency to restore people’s freedom,” the president said in a televised address to the nation. As the protests dragged on, many businesses closed, supermarket shelves remained empty and hospitals reported a lack of oxygen. Amid the worsening situation, some sections of society called on President Paz to use force to restore order.

On Friday night, Paz reached an agreement with one of the unions, whose representatives had urged the lifting of the road blockades. However, other groups of protesters continue to demand his resignation and refuse to enter into negotiations.

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Paz said the state of emergency was meant to guarantee fuel supplies, which have become increasingly scarce as roadblocks have left tanker trucks stranded.

The decree prohibits “blocking streets, avenues, roads and highways in ways that affect traffic and supplies” and orders the armed forces to temporarily support the police “in restoring order, reopening roads and protecting the population”. The state of emergency does not limit due process rights or constitutional guarantees and allows people to continue their daily activities, the AP reported.

The state of emergency will last 90 days but could be lifted sooner if “violence and threats against the population cease,” the government said in a statement.

Paz came to power in November, ending nearly 20 years of uninterrupted rule by Bolivia’s Movement for Socialism, or MAS, party, which has caused the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation. As a centrist who defeated more conservative candidates, Paz promised to solve chronic fuel shortages and replenish the central bank’s near-empty coffers while protecting the social welfare that was a pillar of MAS’s popularity.

However, his austerity measures, especially the elimination of long-term fuel subsidies, worsened the biting inflation. His government fixed the fuel shortage, but with low-quality gasoline that damaged thousands of vehicles. Reforms to support foreign investment and stimulate economic growth have stalled in Congress.

Groups of indigenous and rural workers from the highlands — which have long supported the MAS but helped bring Paz to power last year — have led the protests, accusing his government of neglecting their needs since taking office.

He faces growing pressure from both Bolivia’s hard right, which dominates Congress, and the long-ruling left. Former President Evo Morales has backed the protests and called for new elections from his hideout in the coca-growing tropics, where he is avoiding an arrest warrant on charges of statutory rape.

The Trump administration has backed Paz, who has mended relations with the US after years of anti-Western hostility in Bolivia under Morales.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Paz last week to inform him that Washington was “increasing emergency assistance and support for logistics operations” to help alleviate shortfalls caused by the blockades.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth condemned the protests as “attempts to overthrow a legitimate government” and issued a stark warning to those he said were “profiting from death and destruction in our hemisphere”.

“The United States is watching,” he wrote on X.

Morales, on the other hand, expressed support for the protest movement, called for early elections and described the demonstrations as opposition to Paz’s economic reforms. In an exclusive interview with Reuters this week, he rejected accusations that he was behind the unrest, arguing instead that the “original uprising” was rooted in economic hardship.

The US “strongly supports” Paz’s decision “to restore order and ensure the free flow of food, medicine and basic supplies to the Bolivian people,” a State Department official said on Saturday, according to Reuters.

(With input from agencies)