The South American country of Bolivia has been rocked by continuous anti-government protests. President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on Saturday. Troops and bulldozers have been deployed to clear the blockades set up by protesters on roads across the country.
The protests against the conservative government have already passed six weeks. Labour unions, indigenous groups and coca farmers have taken to the streets in various cities of Bolivia to march and protest, and roads have been blockaded in many places. The sustained protests have caused severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel in Bolivia’s main cities, and the country’s economy has been hit by losses running into billions of dollars. In the face of the protests, Bolivia’s first non-socialist government in two decades has come under threat of collapse.
Seeking to end the ongoing crisis, President Rodrigo Paz addressed the nation on television early on Saturday. He warned protesters that ‘the full force of the law’ would be applied against lawbreakers. In the televised address, President Rodrigo Paz declared a 90-day state of emergency across the country. He said that during the state of emergency any kind of protest was legally banned and that the military would be deployed inside the country.
A few hours after the president’s announcement, AFP journalists reported the presence of troops in the city of El Alto. They said convoys of soldiers and armed police were patrolling the city, and bulldozers had begun work to remove the blockades on the roads. AFP also noted that many residents welcomed the army and police patrols with applause. In El Alto, a local resident handed a loaf of bread to a police officer patrolling in a pickup truck. The person, Carla Butron, 39, a shopkeeper by profession, later told AFP: ‘I am very happy about this.’ Carla said: ‘For more than 50 days, the protests in El Alto have made everything difficult — work and free movement alike.’
There were also protests near the capital, La Paz, where military police and navy personnel were seen guarding the presidential palace. Police tactical units have been deployed in the city’s main squares. In a post on social media, President Rodrigo Paz said: ‘The people of Bolivia cannot be held hostage to any blockade that cuts off their path to work, study, medical care, buying essential goods and even bringing food home.’ The president added: ‘The aim of the state of emergency is not to take away people’s normal activities, but to restore them.’
Rodrigo Paz has faced fierce protests less than a year after winning an election and forming a government. Protesters are now demanding that Rodrigo Paz abandon his liberal economic reforms and resign as head of state. The 58-year-old president has signalled that he is ‘ready for dialogue.’ Earlier in the week, he even agreed to a deal with one of the country’s main labour unions to resolve the crisis. In exchange for a promise not to hand state institutions over to the private sector and to keep the door open for talks, the Bolivian Workers’ Central union agreed to stop protesting. However, several indigenous groups have said they will continue to protest, and strict blockades remain at more than 40 locations. Lidia Calisaya, a 42-year-old Aymara leader, told AFP: ‘We want him [the president] to give up power.’
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report