Breaking — Latin America
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz announced Monday he will cut his own salary — and that of his cabinet ministers — by 50 percent, in a desperate bid to end three weeks of mass protests that have pushed the country to the brink of paralysis.
The center-right leader, elected earlier this year on a platform to rescue Bolivia from its worst economic crisis in four decades, has watched his political survival unravel in a matter of weeks. The demonstrations, which began in early May over the government’s handling of soaring inflation and fuel shortages, have snowballed into a full-throated demand for his resignation.
Supplies to the administrative capital La Paz have been severed for weeks by road blockades erected by protesters across major highways. Hospitals are reporting critical shortages of medicine and medical supplies. Gas stations have run dry. Food convoys unable to reach the city have sparked fears of localized hunger in isolated communities.
“This president has made the decision, as part of his efforts and commitment to the country, to reduce his salary by 50 percent,” Paz said Monday from Sucre, Bolivia’s constitutional capital, in a nationally televised address. His monthly salary currently stands at approximately 24,000 bolivianos (around $3,500).
It remains unclear whether the gesture will satisfy the protesters. Paz’s earlier overtures — including the dismissal of an unpopular labor minister and promises to give trade unions and Indigenous groups greater influence over economic policy — failed to stem the demonstrations.
On Saturday, police clashed for hours with demonstrators attempting to clear roads leading into La Paz. The violence underscored the government’s limited options as it struggles to break the blockade without triggering further bloodshed.
“But everything has a limit,” Paz said in a weekend interview with Argentine television network TN, declining to rule out imposing a state of emergency if the standoff continues.
The crisis represents a stunning reversal for Paz, an economist from a prominent political family whose election in late 2025 was hailed as the end of two decades of socialist rule launched by his predecessor, former President Evo Morales — Bolivia’s first Indigenous leader. Morales, who attempted a controversial political comeback last year despite facing criminal charges, called Sunday for Paz to resign and for new elections to be held.
Analysts say the root cause of the turmoil is a severe foreign currency shortage that has crippled imports of fuel and basic goods, despite government subsidies intended to keep prices affordable. Paz has struggled to reform the subsidy system without triggering further social explosions.
The United States, which backed Paz’s candidacy, has so far declined to comment publicly on the crisis. Regional powers including Brazil and Mexico are monitoring the situation closely, according to diplomatic sources.
As blockades stretch into a third week with no resolution in sight, Bolivia’s fragile institutions face mounting pressure. Congress has not convened an emergency session, and the military has so far remained in barracks — though analysts warn that could change if the political impasse deepens.
Diego Vargas, Latin America Correspondent —
Developing. More to follow.