The 2026 Bolivian protests were a series of mass protests that occurred in Bolivia in May and June, involving widespread demonstrations, blockades, and strikes in multiple regions across Bolivia that targeted major cities. They were led and participated predominantly by indigenous groups. Led largely by miners, they were joined by teachers, farmers, and other workers. The protests were sparked by Law 1720, a law allowing land to be used as collateral for loans, against the backdrop of a wider economic downturn in Bolivia. Although President Rodrigo Paz annulled the law on 13 May, protests continued to spread. The scope of the protests also expanded, with workers demanding higher wages, labour reform, and Paz's resignation.
Beginning on 14 May, protesters detonated explosives and clashed with police around the presidential palace. Road blockades also escalated, putting the cities of La Paz, El Alto, and Cochabamba under "siege", effectively isolating the cities and preventing essential goods from reaching them. During the protests, Bolivia's labour minister, defence minister, and education minister resigned.
On 19 June, the Paz administration and the Bolivian Workers' Center (COB) reached an agreement to establish sectoral working groups and move toward the suspension of the protest measures. Hours later, the government declared a nationwide state of emergency for a period of ninety days, temporarily restricting mass gatherings and banning road blockades. By 23 June, all blockade points had been lifted, and only road-clearing operations remained on some routes.
The total economic losses from the 53 days of blockades was estimated to be Bs. 14 billion, with the damage to infrastructure across the country being estimated to cost Bs. 150 million. At least 24 people were killed and 37 injured as of 9 July and 20 June, respectively. In response to the economic damage from the protests, the government ended the Bolivian boliviano's peg to the US dollar, establishing a floating exchange rate on 29 June. Hundreds of legal cases were opened against protest leaders, with the leader of Túpac Katari being arrested in early July.
Background
Bolivia's economic crisis, resulting from declining energy production and a shortage of U.S. dollars, is the worst in the country for decades. The country experienced widespread fuel shortages. A presidential decree in December 2025 ended national fuel subsidies, causing much higher gasoline prices. President Rodrigo Paz was elected in October 2025 after campaigning for economic reform. The 2026 Iran war also contributed to pressure on the country's economy.
Since taking office, Paz has distanced himself from many of his voters. He formed his cabinet primarily with conservative business leaders, leaving Indigenous operatives and the labour and agrarian sectors without representation. Many voters felt betrayed and neglected by Paz after voting for him in the 2025 election.
Before its 13 May repeal after backlash from the Indigenous peoples and rural organizations, Law 1720, which had been put into effect on 10 April, allowed titled small agricultural property to be voluntarily converted into medium property upon written request and a sworn declaration. This made the land eligible to be used as collateral for bank loans. Critics argued that the law was a potential threat to farmers, as Law 1720 also stripped land of its immunity from seizure and commodification.
Timeline
May
Protests occurred sporadically since January before flaring up at the beginning of May. Initially triggered by farmers protesting against a law allowing land mortgage, the unrest began with roadblocks and marches across the country. The first blockade in La Paz occurred on 1 May, with a general strike being called the same day. 67 highways were blockaded around Bolivia leading to restricted domestic trade starting around 6 May. Around 12 May, the protests escalated as thousands of workers marched in the capital, La Paz. The farmers were joined by miners, who protested for labour reform and fuel, as well as teachers and Indigenous Bolivians. Even though Paz annulled Law 1720 on 13 May, the protests continued to spread. In early May, Labour Minister Edgar Morales resigned.
Early on 14 May, a small delegation of 20 miners from the Bolivian Workers' Center (Spanish: Central Obrera Boliviana; COB) went to the presidential palace to talk with Paz, to no avail. Later that day, miners detonated small sticks of dynamite as some protesters attempted to forcibly enter the presidential palace. According to Anadolu Ajansi, some protesters reportedly threw Molotov cocktails at security officers during the confrontation. Police used tear gas to combat the protesters and blocked roads around the presidential palace. Later in the day on 15 May, the focus of the protests turned to demanding Paz's resignation. The protestors utilised the strategy of road blocks against the state, which deployed over 3,500 security personnel to dismantle them. As a result, over 5,000 trucks were left stranded on highways, reportedly causing over US$50,000,000 in losses per day. Some schools and public transportation lines were closed due to the unrest.
The Bolivian Workers' Central, of which many of the miners are members, declared that larger protests would continue if their demands to the government were not met. The COB has demanded wage increases, and peasant unions and transport workers demanded increased access to high quality gasoline instead of the "junk gasoline" that the government had imported to save money and caused damage to their cars. The miners are negotiating separately for access to additional mining areas. Public schoolteachers are also holding separate talks for increased wages.
Former president Evo Morales led a 190-kilometre (120 mi) march into La Paz on 19 May, escalating pressure on the capital. In response to the protests, on 20 May Paz announced a cabinet reshuffle, which was completed by 25 May. On 23 May, police forces and the military were dispatched to create humanitarian corridors for convoys to enter the city. These convoys were attacked by protesters and had stones and dynamite thrown at them. While he was overseeing an attempt to clear blockades in Copata, Public Works Minister Mauricio Zamora was ambushed by protesters and forced to flee. He was located and rescued later that day. By 24 May, the blockades had spread to the nearby city of El Alto. On 25 May, Rodrigo Paz left La Paz and fled to Bolivia's constitutional capital, Sucre. Later that day, Paz said that he would cut his salary and those of his cabinet ministers in half as a show of goodwill and commitment to the country.
On 26 May, protesters surrounded the presidential palace and called for Paz to resign. Police fired tear gas at protesters while the protesters lit explosives. Because of the blockades, many stores and gas stations were closed. According to Al Jazeera, the protests had no intention of stopping. Subsidised chicken was airlifted into La Paz to circumvent the blockades on 27 May, but most commodities were still prevented from entering the capital. Counter-protests also occurred, led mainly by shopowners who were unable to stock their stores.
Beginning on 26 May, the Bolivian government began to take a harsher tone against the protests. Late that day, Congress passed a law allowing Paz to use the Bolivian Army against civil unrest. Paz was also pressured to declare a state of emergency to allow him to use extra powers to quell the protests. However, Paz described this as "an option of last resort". Paz signed the law into effect on 27 May. He said in a speech that day the "time is running out" for the protesters and threatened to escalate the use of force.
President Paz convened an emergency cabinet meeting with several of his ministers to discuss the protesters' demands. Economy Minister José Gabriel Espinoza said that the government was "open to dialogue" with the protesters. By this point, the cities of La Paz and El Alto had become almost completely isolated from the rest of the country by blockades. Presidential spokesperson José Luis Gálvez suggested that Evo Morales, who led Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, was spearheading the protests. On 25 May, Morales called for early elections within the next 90 days.
On 20 May 2026, the Bolivian government announced that it had expelled the Colombian ambassador, Elizabeth García, after Colombian president Gustavo Petro expressed his support for the protesters. President Paz had earlier called Petro's remarks "reproachable".
June
On 2 June, the FEJUVE, a council consisting of local residents' boards in El Alto declared a state of emergency in the city and called for Paz to resign and for those arrested during the protests to be released. The city's mayor, Eliser Roca, said that the city was losing roughly US$6.5 million per day since being isolated. Later that day, a group of protesters occupied the Humberto Suárez oil fields near Santa Rosa del Sara, closing valves and lighting fires. The authorities attempted to negotiate the withdrawal of protesters from the oil wells, but were unsuccessful as the protesters vowed to remain until Paz resigned. On 3 June, police regained control of the facility and arrested eight people. During the operation, protesters used downed trees to block access roads leading to the oil field and threw rocks at police officers. Minister of Defence Marcelo Salinas and Minister of Education Beatriz Garcia de Achá resigned on 2 June.
A meeting was convened on 3 June in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, Bolivia's legislature, to discuss the terms of the protesters. Initially, the meeting had been expected to consist of the leaders of political factions in the legislature, the presidents of each chamber, vice president Edmand Lara, and minister of the presidency José Luis Lupo. However, President Paz show up to the meeting unannounced. During the meeting, Lupo announced the 80 agreements had been signed between the government and various activist groups. The next day, Lupo met with the Constitutional Commission to discuss establishing talks between the government and protesters. The blockades sparked many comments that were racist toward Indigenous people from white and affluent populations. On 3 June, Paz named Ernesto Justiniano as the new defence minister, who named his first priority as resolving the unrest.
On 5 June, soldiers and police successfully cleared a key road leading from La Paz west towards rural communities which had been blocked with debris by protesters.On the morning of 6 June, a joint police and military operation attempted to clear a series of roadblocks on Route 9 between the cities of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Trinidad. The operation began at 04:00 and lasted for four hours, with 900 police officers and 100 soldiers participating. During the operation, a firefight broke out between the authorities and the protesters in which at least 6 officers and 14 protesters were injured, including 4 by gunfire. After around four hours of fighting, the police withdrew and protesters retook their positions along the road.
After weeks of pressure, on 7 June the Chamber of Deputies passed a law allowing the use of members of the military against protesters. Previously, soldiers assisting in clearing blockades were considered to be in support roles with riot police. The bill also included a measure that would make soldiers' actions presumed legal until proven otherwise. Paz signed the bill into force the next day. Despite the law being passed, Paz still did not declare a state of emergency. The Associated Press (AP) noted that this may be due to the fact that previous governments have been ousted after violently cracking down on protests. On 8 June, he called the protest leaders "narco-terrorists" and warned of a harsher crackdown.
Following a speech by Paz on 8 June after signing the decree allowing the military to assist police enforcement, protesters in El Alto stormed a public transport union's office. 28 people were arrested in the subsequent operation. In the country's fourth-most populous city of Cochabamba, protesting farmers attempted to cut off the Khora bridge that was along the major route connecting the city with western Bolivia. Protesters threw sticks of dynamite at police, who used tear gas to force the farmers back, making 23 arrests.
On 12 June, residents of El Alto who were protesting attacked a police convoy passing through the outskirts of the city. As the convoy attempted to cross a canal, it was ambushed by rioters and set on fire. The police officers were made to take their clothes off and throw them into the fire. Police efforts to clear blockades also escalated that week. By 13 June, the Bolivian Highway Administration (Spanish: Administradora Boliviana de Carreteras) reported that 77 blockades remained. Most of these blockades were concentrated in the departments of Cochabamba and La Paz, with 28 and 20 respectively. Bolivia's tourism industry was greatly impacted by the protests; 90% of hotel bookings were cancelled during the protests and the industry reported losses of over US$200 million since the start of the unrest. The total consequences were not all immediate, as industry leaders said that the protests were deteriorating Bolivia's international image and could take months to recover.
The Federación Túpac Katari social organisation met in Pucarani on 12 June. In this meeting, it was decided to continue with the unrest and blockades. An emergency national meeting was called by the Bolivian Worker's Center for the evening of 13 May at their headquarters in Prado, La Paz. The meeting's stated aims were to assess the current situation and clarify their position regarding negotiations with the government. The Workers' Center also said in a statement that protesters must allow ambulances and other medical workers to pass through the blockades. By 15 June, the economic impact of the blockades had reached USD$2.76 billion, impacting 5.5% of Bolivia's GDP.