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Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency across the Latin American country on Saturday after more than six weeks of road blockades and protests demanding his resignation, saying he had exhausted “all avenues of dialogue.”
The decision came hours after Paz signed an agreement with the country’s main trade union federation, Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), ending the protests sparked by Paz’s plans for the economy.
But not all sectors were covered by the agreement, and some unions continued protesting.
“After exhausting all avenues of dialogue, reaching agreements with those whose demands were legitimate, and identifying those who used violence in an attempt to destabilise Bolivia, we made the decision to declare a state of emergency across the entire national territory,” Paz said in a televised speech.
