MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Tuesday, June 2nd 2026 - 10:50 UTC
Drivers continue to line up for fuel. Photo: Francisco RIVEROS / @APGNoticiasBo
La Paz has spent a month under blockade. The main roads into Bolivia's administrative capital have been cut for four weeks, and shortages of food and fuel worsen by the day. Frustration is mounting among residents: some demand the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz for failing to keep his campaign promises, while others call for a firm hand and the deployment of the army to lift the siege. Most agree that the president, who took office less than seven months ago, should have acted sooner, when the protests began.
Plaza Murillo, the seat of the executive and legislative branches, has been sealed off with barriers and chains for four weeks. Police allow through only those who work in the institutions or the neighboring shops, now empty of tourists. Lines at gas stations stretch for miles, waiting for deliveries that sometimes take three or four days. On the black market, fuel is scarce and costs nearly triple the official price.
