In Bolivia, at least 27 blockades remain active on the country's road network, despite the entry into force of the state of exception and the Government's optimistic discourse, which has reached an agreement with one of the main organizations involved in the protests, the Bolivian Workers' Confederation (COB).
These 27 roadblocks are listed on the Transitability portal of the Bolivian Road Administration, an agency attached to the Ministry of Public Works, Services, and Housing. The figure represents a decrease compared to the 40 blockades reported on Saturday and the 47 recorded on Friday.
The Minister of Public Works, Mauricio Zamora, has stressed that the blockades have been reduced by at least 60% compared to the hundred that were counted at the most intense moment of the crisis.
"Following the President's mandate and with the commitment to restore tranquility to Bolivian families, we will move forward united until normality is restored throughout the national territory," Zamora stated in a message disseminated on social media.
Following the understanding with the COB, other organizations such as the United Union Federation of Peasant Workers of La Paz Túpac Katari and the Departmental Federation of Peasant Indigenous Native Women of La Paz Bartolina Sisa have announced a pause in the mobilizations and the holding of an extraordinary emergency assembly on Monday in La Paz.
Delegates from the 20 provinces will gather at this assembly to review the organization's internal situation, assess the national and departmental situation, and define resolutions in defense of the sector's unity and institutional framework, as indicated.
The statement from these organizations rejects the agreement signed between the Executive and the COB, also signed by the United Union Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia (CSUTCB), considering that it was adopted without prior consultation with the provincial bases.
"Everything was resolved behind closed doors. They went to negotiate without our participation and without our consent, with the argument of dealing with the situation of our detained brothers, who are the great majority from the provinces, they never asked us for our lists of detainees, nor did they ask us what we demanded, nor what our priorities were for our detainees, apprehended, under precautionary measures, injured, and deceased," the text argues.
The Assembly supports the state of exception
In parallel, on Saturday night, the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia gave its approval to Supreme Decree 5636 of President Rodrigo Paz, which declares a state of exception, after an extensive session marked by criticism of Vice President Edmand Lara, who had spoken out against the measure.
The decree was validated at 2:36 AM —8:36 AM in peninsular Spain— with a comfortable two-thirds majority, after several procedural objections and in a climate of strong political tension.
The first interventions focused on the vice president and president of the Assembly, Edman Lara, who opened the session when several deputies were still missing, incorporated gradually. Lara defended the need to convene the Assembly within 24 hours of the publication of the presidential decree. "I do not agree with the state of exception; however, I am obliged to comply with the law," he stated.
When the Libre and APB Súmate groups were already leaning towards supporting the measure and thus ensuring the necessary majority, Lara left the plenary session citing physical discomfort, a gesture that also generated reproaches.
The session ended with a minute of silence in memory of the more than 20 people who died during the 52 days of protests and blockades called to demand the resignation of President Paz and to oppose his neoliberal policies.
The Executive maintains that a good part of the social demands have been met through dialogue and various agreements, which is why it interprets that the ongoing blockades are mainly due to political motivations.