Bolivia’s congress voted Tuesday to let President Rodrigo Paz deploy soldiers and declare a state of emergency to counter huge street protests seeking his resignation over economic hardship.
By a more than two-thirds majority the Chamber of Deputies eliminated a rule that restricted the center-right president’s leeway to invoke emergency measures, the chamber’s speaker Roberto Castro announced.
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As a groundswell of fury with the US-backed leader continues to convulse the Andean nation just six months into his term, the way is now clear for Paz to deploy the army and curb some civil liberties, like freedom of movement and assembly. The law had already been rushed through the Senate.
With an ample majority of the 117 members present in the 130-seat chamber, lawmakers undid a rule that since 2020 had limited the president’s ability to impose states of emergency.
