Bolivia Hits 67 Roadblocks as Inflation Reaches 14%

Rodrigo Paz Pereira inherited an economy in collapse and a population mobilized against the previous government. Six months after his runoff victory, the same street that turned on the MAS is turning on him — and the policy package he unveiled in Cochabamba is meeting an Andean society that wants relief now, not reform later.

What is happening on the ground today?

The Bolivian Police counted 67 active roadblocks across the national territory on May 12, the highest in roughly two years and a level that effectively isolates La Paz from the rest of the country. The Defensoría del Pueblo issued a public call for humanitarian corridors as food shortages spread through markets and fuel supplies tightened further. The Caracollo-to-La-Paz evista march set off the same day under the banner “For Life and to Save Bolivia,” merging with the indefinite Central Obrera Boliviana strike that has been building since early May.

“The people can no longer tolerate abuse, betrayal or contempt. The blockades are the response of those who have been ignored, betrayed and beaten by an authoritarian government that governs for businessmen, agroindustrialists and external powers while hunger and crisis grow,” one campesino leader told the Resumen Latinoamericano outlet. Cooperative miners, urban transport drivers, Tropic of Cochabamba coca growers, Evo Pueblo militants, teachers, and the CSUTCB and Túpac Katari peasant federations are all in the street simultaneously, with the Federación Túpac Katari now demanding the president’s outright resignation.

Why is Ley 1720 the protest’s center of gravity?

Ley 1720, promulgated April 8, 2026, allows voluntary conversion of titled small agricultural properties into medium-sized properties, enabling them to be used as bank collateral. Supporters present it as a productive-modernization tool that brings rural producers into the formal credit system. Opponents — indigenous federations, human-rights groups and the Túpac Katari peasant confederation — argue it opens the door to corporate land concentration and undermines communal-territory protections won during the MAS era.

The protest also targets Ley 157, which penalizes road blockades. The Cobija-to-La-Paz indigenous march that arrived after 27 days on foot has remained as a vigil in the capital awaiting Senate approval of the abrogation; the Ponchos Rojos brigade has blocked roughly 20 points across all 20 provinces of La Paz department and demands Paz Pereira’s resignation for what they call his “betrayal” of the Bolivian people. The Federación Campesina Túpac Katari has rejected dialogue invitations entirely.

What is the economic backdrop?

Source: Bolivian Police, ABC roads agency, AFP, Unitel and Visión 360, May 2026.

The fuel-shortage component is the immediate inflation accelerator. Diesel scarcity has halted significant portions of gold-cooperative mining and is rippling through trucking, agriculture and food distribution. The “gasolina basura” complaint — drivers say poor-quality fuel is damaging their engines — has merged with the broader cost-of-living protest. The government has reached partial agreements with transport organizations but without consensus inside the unions, leaving multiple driver federations still on strike.

What is Paz Pereira’s reform package?

At the “Gran Encuentro Nacional” in Cochabamba on May 9, Paz Pereira presented what he framed as a structural reset of the Bolivian economic model: a new Electricity Law, an Investment Law, a Mining Law, a Green Economy Law and a Boliviano Entrepreneur Law, plus electoral-system reforms. The package is the legislative spine of his “Capitalism for All” campaign promise — reducing bureaucracy, attracting foreign investment and breaking what he calls the “Estado Tranca” that strangled productivity under the MAS.

“We have prepared the package of laws so that, together with proposals from parliamentarians and different regions, this becomes an open debate in the country for the benefit of all Bolivians,” Paz Pereira told the assembled audience in Cochabamba, per Informe Exclusivo. The strategic alignment is also external. Paz has restored close ties with Washington, freed former interim president Jeanine Áñez, and joined Donald Trump’s “Escudo de las Américas” coalition aimed at consolidating US influence against China in the region.

Can the government dialogue its way out?

Paz Pereira called for dialogue on May 12 and the executive has pushed the abrogation of Ley 1720 to the Legislative Assembly to defuse the most polarizing single demand. The arithmetic is harder than the rhetoric. Government officials have ruled out the 20% wage increase on fiscal grounds while offering additional public-sector positions, but multiple union confederations have rejected dialogue outright until concrete cost-of-living relief is delivered.

The political risk is structural. Paz Pereira’s “Capitalism for All” mandate was always going to face resistance from the labor and indigenous federations that built the MAS coalition. What is new is the speed: barely six months into the term, the same street that ended MAS dominance in the 2025 runoff is mobilizing against the post-MAS settlement. The Cochabamba reform package risks landing as policy theater while the immediate economic squeeze accelerates, per TodosNube.

What should LATAM investors and analysts watch next?

• Ley 1720 Senate vote: if the abrogation passes quickly, the indigenous and peasant march pressure dissipates; if it stalls, the La Paz vigil escalates and additional federations join the blockades.
• Fuel supply normalization: diesel and gasoline distribution restoration is the single biggest variable for inflation expectations; without it, the 14% print extends and consumer-staple shortages compound.
• Caracollo march arrival in La Paz: the evista march reaching the capital will mark either a turning point in negotiations or an inflection toward urban confrontation; security incidents remain a tail risk.
• COB wage negotiation: a 5-10% government counter-offer could bring partial union de-escalation; the 20% demand is unlikely to be met but the gap between offer and demand drives the strike timeline.
• US-Bolivia operational deepening: if DEA returns to the Chapare and Trump-coalition coordination accelerates, the political cost inside Bolivia rises but the external financing window widens; investor exposure should track this balance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Rodrigo Paz Pereira?

A Bolivian center-right politician and son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora. He won the November 2025 presidential runoff on a “Capitalism for All” platform after the MAS collapse, taking office in late 2025. He has restored close ties with Washington, freed Jeanine Áñez and aligned Bolivia with the Trump-led “Escudo de las Américas” regional coalition against Chinese expansion.

What is Ley 1720?

Promulgated April 8, 2026, Ley 1720 allows voluntary conversion of small titled agricultural properties into medium-sized properties that can be used as bank collateral. Supporters call it a credit-modernization tool; indigenous and peasant federations argue it enables corporate land concentration and weakens communal-territory protections, making it the central demand behind the May protests.

What is the COB and what does it demand?

The Central Obrera Boliviana is Bolivia’s principal labor confederation, with member organizations including miners, teachers, transport workers, health workers and farmers. Its current indefinite strike carries 190 demands led by a 20% wage increase, support for the rural teaching corps and abrogation of Ley 1720. The COB has historically functioned as a kingmaker in Bolivian crises.

How does this compare to past Bolivian crises?

The current 67-roadblock count and 14% inflation represent the most acute pressure since the late MAS collapse of 2024-2025, but the institutional context is different — Bolivia is not in immediate constitutional crisis, the military has not intervened politically, and Paz Pereira retains constitutional legitimacy from his 2025 mandate. The risk vector is socioeconomic exhaustion converting into governance paralysis rather than rupture.

What is the role of Evo Morales in the current protests?

Morales and his Evo Pueblo movement are active participants. The Caracollo-to-La-Paz march launched May 12 carries the evista “For Life and to Save Bolivia” banner. Morales personally faces a separate Bolivian capture order for failing to appear at his child-trafficking trial. The current mobilization revives MAS organizing capacity even though the party itself collected just 3.2% in the 2025 first round.

Connected Coverage

Related Rio Times coverage: Bolivia GM soy approval · Bolivia capture order on Evo Morales · Latin America’s 2026 oil supply.

Sources

• Visión 360 — synthesis of organizational landscape and timeline of protests: vision360.bo
• Informe Exclusivo — Paz Pereira “Gran Encuentro Nacional” announcement and reform package: informeexclusivo.com.bo
• TodosNube — sector-by-sector breakdown of demands and Ley 1720 context: todosnube.com
• Resumen Latinoamericano — Túpac Katari and Ponchos Rojos statements with direct quotes: resumenlatinoamericano.org
• Huella del Sur — Cobija-to-La-Paz march timeline and transport federation actions: huelladelsur.ar
• World Socialist Web Site — MAS collapse arithmetic and external-alignment context: wsws.org

Published: 2026-05-13T13:00:00-03:00 · Updated: 2026-05-13T13:00:00-03:00 · Dateline: LA PAZ