Tensions remain high in the South American country as an economic crisis converges with frustration over elections.
At least four people have been killed in antigovernment demonstrations in Bolivia, where supporters of former President Evo Morales have clashed with state forces as tensions rise ahead of upcoming elections.
On Thursday, Justice Minister Cesar Siles identified the four people killed as first responders, and a state news agency reported that three were police officers and one was a firefighter.
“There are already four officers who have lost their lives,” Siles told reporters in La Paz, saying some had been shot.
This week’s protests have largely centred on frustrations over Bolivia’s floundering economy and Morales’s inability to run in the presidential election on August 17.
The protests are most active in rural areas, where support for Morales is most concentrated. A trade union organiser who served as president from 2006 to 2019, Morales is considered Bolivia’s first Indigenous leader and a champion for eliminating poverty.
But his three terms as president were marred by accusations of increasingly authoritarian tendencies. In 2016, voters turned down a constitutional amendment that would have allowed Morales to run for a fourth consecutive term, but Morales then petitioned the courts to allow him to run anyway.
He was successful, but his candidacy in the 2019 presidential race — and accusations of fraud — sparked a political crisis that saw him temporarily flee the country.
In recent years, however, Bolivian courts have repeatedly upheld a two-term limit for the presidency and denied Morales a chance to run in the 2025 race. Morales, meanwhile, has accused the government of violating his rights, and his supporters have recently blocked roads and skirmished with state security.
The tensions have been exacerbated by divisions within the ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, which Morales formerly led. Morales left the party last year after a falling-out with his former ally, President Luis Arce, over economic issues and Arce’s re-election ambitions.
Last month, Arce ultimately dropped out of the 2025 race, citing the schism among MAS voters. Still, he has accused Morales of attempting to foment a “coup” against his government.
“We can’t call these civilian protests any more. We are talking about paramilitary groups, groups that carry weapons, and we have to respond firmly,” Siles, the justice minister, said.
Local media have reported that tanks have been sent to Llallagua, where the protests are said to be most intense.
“Nobody travels on these roads any more, and nobody works normally. It really harms us,” restaurant owner Marlene Poma told the news agency Reuters.
In a social media post on Thursday, Morales said the crisis was the result of “inadequate government policies and the destruction of our economic model”.
He warned that, without a change, the country would continue towards “total collapse”.
Bolivia’s electoral tribunal ruled last week that leftist Senate leader and Morales ally Andronico Rodriguez could run in the upcoming presidential election after being previously barred from doing so on a technicality.
In addition, the tribunal once again affirmed Morales would not be in the running come August.
But the exclusion of Morales, who oversaw robust economic development during his presidency, sparked anger among his loyal base of supporters. And Morales has pledged to continue his fight to be on the ballot.
Bolivia currently struggles with high inflation and low currency reserves, and many Morales supporters blame the Arce administration for the lack of development in the country’s once-prosperous energy sector.