Bolivia’s Protest Week Opens With a 24-Hour Transport Strike: What Expats Need to Know
BOLIVIA · TRANSPORT & PROTESTS
Key Facts
- —The country Bolivia has about 12 million people and a landlocked economy built on gas, mining and agriculture. Its new president, Rodrigo Paz, took office in November 2025 promising an economic adjustment backed by the IMF.
- —What is happening The drivers’ confederation (Confederación Sindical de Choferes) began a 24-hour national vehicle withdrawal on Monday 28 September 2026, protesting the decree that ended the diesel subsidy.
- —The decree Supreme Decree 5716, signed late on Friday 18 September, raised diesel from Bs9.80 to Bs17.95 a liter — up 83 percent — and linked future prices to an international benchmark within a 5 percent band. Gasoline was left unchanged.
- —The ultimatum Former president Evo Morales, speaking at Lauca Ñ on Saturday 26 September, gave the government until Saturday 3 October to repeal both decree 5716 and decree 5727, and threatened national protests from Tuesday 13 October.
- —The second decree Supreme Decree 5727, published in the Official Gazette on 25 September, puts 67 state companies under review; the technical evaluation found at least 20 in critical condition, and 15 were already technically bankrupt with combined losses of Bs2.655 billion (about US$220 million at the official rate of 12.05 per dollar), according to the state-companies office OFEP.
- —The legal frame A state of exception in force since June runs to 17 December and bans road blockades; police and soldiers guard the main highways.
- —What it means for you Today is the disruptive day: thin intercity transport, checkpoints and delays. The rest of the week is watch-and-recheck.
- —Still open Whether the government negotiates on the decrees, how large today’s stoppage proves, and whether the IMF board approves Bolivia’s program on Friday as expected.
A 24-hour transport strike, a teachers’ march on Wednesday, an ultimatum from a wanted ex-president and an IMF vote on Friday. For expats, the practical question is what actually stops, and when.
A 24-Hour Strike Opens the Week
The Confederación Sindical de Choferes, Bolivia’s drivers’ confederation, called a 24-hour national vehicle withdrawal for Monday 28 September, escalating last week’s peaceful march in Oruro against the diesel decree. Intercity buses and shared transport run thin or not at all; police and soldiers guard the main highways under the state of exception, so expect checkpoints and delays rather than closed roads. Urban teachers have called a national march for Wednesday 30 September.
The government’s public answer so far has been to hold the line: Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano rejected Morales’s ultimatum over the weekend.
The Two Decrees Behind the Protests
Supreme Decree 5716 ended the diesel subsidy late on Friday 18 September, raising the pump price from Bs9.80 to Bs17.95 a liter — about US$1.49 at the official rate of 12.05 bolivianos per dollar — and tied future adjustments to the Argus benchmark within a 5 percent band. Gasoline prices were not touched. The government says the subsidy cost about US$55 million a week, money it argues the state no longer has.
Supreme Decree 5727, published in the Official Gazette on 25 September, makes reorganising, dissolving or liquidating loss-making state companies a national priority: 67 firms are under review; the evaluation found at least 20 in critical condition, and 15 were already technically bankrupt with combined losses of Bs2.655 billion (about US$220 million), according to OFEP. Ministries have 15 working days to propose steps, so the first company decisions land in October.
The Ultimatum and the State of Exception
Evo Morales — a wanted man sheltering from arrest — spoke at Lauca Ñ on Saturday 26 September and gave President Paz until Saturday 3 October to repeal both decrees, threatening national protests from Tuesday 13 October if they stand. The legal frame around any escalation is the state of exception, in force since June and extended to 17 December, which bans road blockades — the traditional lever of Bolivian protest — and puts the armed forces alongside the police on the highways.
That combination — an ultimatum, a ban on the lever, and a government that says it will not bend — is what turns a one-day strike into a watched week.
The Money Behind the Standoff
The adjustment’s funding runs through Washington: the IMF board is expected to vote on Bolivia’s program on Friday 2 October, with a first disbursement reported at around US$250 million. Approval would steady the government’s hand; a slip would strengthen the protests’ argument that the adjustment has no cushion. The official exchange rate, floated in June, sits at 12.05 bolivianos per dollar, with the parallel market close behind at around 12 — the two-rate gap that used to define Bolivian money has narrowed, which is one thing the adjustment can point to as stabilization.
What It Means for Expats and Travelers
Today, plan as if intercity transport is not running: stay where you are, keep fuel, cash and essentials topped up, and expect checkpoints on the highways. In La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, the visible signs are thin traffic and guarded junctions. Wednesday brings the teachers’ march; Saturday brings Morales’s deadline. None of this is a reason to change long-term plans — Bolivia has absorbed protest weeks before — but it is a week to recheck conditions each morning and to keep documents on you near any demonstration.
What to Watch
Four dates carry the week: the scale of today’s stoppage by this evening; the teachers’ march on Wednesday 30 September; the IMF board vote expected on Friday 2 October; and Morales’s deadline on Saturday 3 October. If the decrees stand past Saturday, the threatened national protests begin 13 October — after Bolivia’s own calendar, and after Brazil’s election has reset the region’s politics. For the regional picture, see our daily guide for Monday 28 September.
What We Could Not Confirm
As of early Monday morning: the real scale of today’s vehicle withdrawal (first reports are due through the day); whether the government will open any negotiation on the decrees before Saturday; the exact timing and size of an IMF first disbursement beyond the reported figure of about US$250 million; and whether Wednesday’s teachers’ march proceeds at the strength announced.
Is it safe to travel around Bolivia this week?
Today is the hardest day: the 24-hour vehicle withdrawal thins intercity buses and shared transport, and checkpoints are up on the main highways. If you can, travel from Tuesday instead and recheck each morning. Avoid demonstrations, keep documents on you, and remember that road blockades are banned under the state of exception until 17 December — which means confrontations, if they come, happen at the blockade points.
Will diesel run out again, or get cheaper?
Neither is on the table this week. The subsidy ended on 18 September under Supreme Decree 5716, moving the price from Bs9.80 to Bs17.95 a liter — about US$1.49 at the official rate — and future moves follow the Argus benchmark within a 5 percent band. The government says supply at the new price is secured; the queues that defined the subsidy era have eased, at the cost of the higher price.
What does Friday’s IMF vote actually change?
If the board approves Bolivia’s program on Friday 2 October as expected, a first disbursement reported at around US$250 million would fund the adjustment and steady the exchange rate. If it slips, the government’s room to hold both decrees narrows, and the protest calendar — Wednesday’s march, Saturday’s deadline, the threatened 13 October mobilization — gains weight. It is a funding decision, not a verdict on the protests.
Sources
- Bolivia Official Gazette (Supreme Decree 5727, published 25 September 2026; Supreme Decree 5716, 18 September 2026)
- Infobae and Los Tiempos (drivers’ confederation 24-hour withdrawal call, 22–23 September 2026)
- Opinión, Correo del Sur and Erbol (decree texts and state-company figures, 25–26 September 2026)
- bo.dolarapi.com (official rate 12.05 per dollar, 27 September 2026; Binance parallel 11.99 / 12.04)
- Bloomberg and desk reporting (IMF board timing and first-disbursement figure, reported)
- The Rio Times desk reporting, 21–28 September 2026
More: Bolivia news in English, every day from The Rio Times. See also our daily guide for Monday 28 September.
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