The Government of Bolivia has given the green light to a new 90-day extension of the state of emergency and has sent the decree to the Legislative Assembly, where deputies and senators must pronounce on whether to maintain the measure approved in June, also for 90 days, after weeks of protests and blockades against the president of the country, Rodrigo Paz.
The Minister of Defense, Ernesto Justiniano, has expressed his confidence that the Legislative will endorse the extension. "We hope that Congress approves this decree so that we can extend the state of emergency we are currently in for another 90 days," he stated in remarks reported by the Bolivian newspaper 'El Deber', also emphasizing the need for the regulation to remain in force "as long as the risk factors remain."
The current state of emergency concludes this Friday, so time is of the essence. The uncertainty now focuses on whether the president of the Assembly and vice president of the country, Edmand Lara —politically distanced from Paz since both ran together in the elections that brought them to power— will decide to timely call a plenary session of deputies and senators to vote on the continuity of the measure.