Bolivia’s President Paz reshuffles cabinet amid protests and blockades

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz announced a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday as protests and road blockades demanding his resignation continued across parts of the country.

Speaking from the historic Palacio Quemado in La Paz, Paz said the government needed to improve its ability to respond to public concerns during Bolivia’s worsening economic and social crisis.

The announcement came as demonstrations and transport blockades continued in La Paz, El Alto, and other regions. Protesters are demanding action over shortages of fuel and food, rising living costs, and the broader economic situation.

Paz appealed to demonstrators to allow humanitarian corridors for the delivery of essential supplies to hospitals and markets.

“To ask those who are at the blockades that this humanitarian corridor is oxygen in hospitals, it is food in our cities, they do not deserve this punishment,” he stated.

The president also criticised what he described as false information circulating online and among opposition groups regarding alleged government plans to impose new taxes and privatisations.

He also referred to deaths reported during the unrest and warned that those responsible for violence would face legal action.

“There are three dead because of the blockades. They are not from the national government; they are blockades. And the government is extending diverse options in order to generate dialogue. Vandals and those who have debts with justice, sooner or later, will have to face justice,” he said.

The speech took place under heavy security, with police and military personnel guarding key government buildings and diplomatic offices in central La Paz, including the Legislative Palace.