Bolivian Protesters Clash with Police in La Paz, Demand President’s Resignation Over Cost-of-Living Crisis

LA PAZ — Violent protests erupted in Bolivia’s capital as demonstrators clashed with police amid a deepening cost-of-living crisis marked by fuel shortages, rising food prices, and inflation.

The unrest escalated when Bolivian miners and other protesters attempted to push into Plaza Murillo, the site of the presidential palace and vice president’s office. Security forces responded with tear gas as explosions echoed through the streets. The protests represent a dramatic intensification of weeks of social unrest driven by economic pressures on working-class citizens, including miners and farmers who say they are struggling to survive.

The demonstrations come just six months after President Rodrigo Paz Pereira took office, ending two decades of leftist rule with promises of market-friendly reforms to revive the country’s struggling economy. Some protesters are now calling for the president to step down.

“We do not want dialogue or anything. We only want the resignation of the president no matter what. He leaves the good way or he leaves with social upheaval,” one demonstrator said.

The Bolivian government has attributed the unrest to political motives. In a televised address, a presidential spokesperson accused allies of former President Evo Morales of inciting the protests and rejecting dialogue.

“These leaders who serve former President Evo Morales’s political interests agreed not to engage in dialogue and continue telling Bolivians that the only way out is to break democracy to overthrow a president elected by popular vote who was legitimately elected and has been in office for only 6 months,” the spokesperson said.

Evo Morales has expressed support for the protesters on social media, stating that protests will not be halted until structural demands regarding fuel, food, and inflation are addressed.

Bolivian authorities say they have attempted to negotiate with the protesters, but those talks have failed to calm the situation on the streets. The government now faces pressure from both demonstrators and the political opposition.