Pacification requires his resignation and elections in ninety days
Evo Morales calls for presidential resignation and snap elections within 90 days to prevent military escalation and bloodshed during Bolivia's worst economic crisis. Widespread road blockades, hospital shortages of oxygen, bank closures, and food scarcity reflect deep economic crisis caused by dollar shortage and austerity measures.
- 59 road blockades installed across Bolivia as of May 24, 2026, mostly in the Andean west
- Evo Morales demands new elections within 90 days and Paz's resignation
- Hospitals lack oxygen cylinders; banks have closed; food and medicine are scarce in some regions
- Rodrigo Paz became president in November 2025; eliminated fuel subsidies, triggering inflation
Bolivia's ex-president Evo Morales demands new elections within 90 days as massive protests against President Rodrigo Paz paralyze the country. Road blockades prevent essential supplies from reaching major cities amid severe economic crisis.
Bolivia is grinding to a halt. Since early May, road blockades have choked off the country's arteries—59 separate barriers as of Sunday morning, most of them strung across the Andean west, built from wire and earth and concrete separators that seal off every lane. Essential goods cannot move. Hospitals have run out of oxygen cylinders. Banks have shuttered their doors. Food and medicine are scarce in some regions. The currency has collapsed. Inflation has spiraled. And on Sunday, May 24th, 2026, Evo Morales, the country's former president, went on his weekly radio program and issued an ultimatum to the man who now holds the office.
Rodigo Paz, the current president, has two choices, Morales said. He can militarize the country—a path Morales called suicidal. Or he can choose peace: resign, hand power to a transitional president, and call new elections within ninety days. "So there are no dead, so there are no wounded," Morales said on Kawsachun Coca radio, "pacification requires his resignation and a transitional president who convokes elections in that timeframe."
Paz took office in November 2025 and inherited—or created—a catastrophe. The government eliminated fuel subsidies, which unleashed inflation. It tightened credit to small rural producers. Most critically, the country faces a severe shortage of dollars. The result is a crisis that has mobilized nearly every organized sector of Bolivian society: labor unions, miners, farmers, indigenous communities. They are blocking roads. They are occupying government buildings. They are demanding Paz's head.
The blockades are not spontaneous traffic jams. The Central Operária Boliviana, the country's main labor federation, and agricultural groups have organized them deliberately, preventing the movement of goods into La Paz and El Alto, the capital and its sister city. On Friday, May 22nd, the situation intensified when protesters invaded public buildings and installed dozens of new barriers across the administrative capital. The demands are consistent: Paz must resign, austerity measures must be reversed, the cost of living must come down.
Paz has blamed Morales for orchestrating the unrest. Morales denies direct involvement. But the distinction may be academic. The protests reflect genuine economic desperation—hospitals without oxygen, shelves without food, banks that have closed out of fear. Some Bolivians have organized counterprotests in support of the government, but they appear to be a minority voice in a country where the majority is suffering.
The international dimension has begun to sharpen. The United States is watching closely. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement saying the U.S. could intervene if "criminals and drug traffickers" overthrow democratically elected leaders—a formulation that seems designed to warn against any extraconstitutional removal of Paz while also signaling that Washington's patience has limits. The message is ambiguous enough to cover multiple scenarios.
What happens next depends on whether Paz can stabilize the economy, whether the protest movement can sustain its pressure, and whether Morales' call for elections gains traction as a compromise that might defuse the crisis without requiring either side to surrender completely. For now, Bolivia remains paralyzed, its roads blocked, its hospitals struggling, its people waiting to see whether their president will fight or negotiate.
Citas Notables
Paz has two paths: a suicidal decision to militarize, or pacification through his resignation and a transitional president calling elections within ninety days— Evo Morales, on his weekly radio program
The U.S. could intervene if criminals and drug traffickers overthrow democratically elected leaders— Secretary of State Marco Rubio
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Paz eliminate fuel subsidies if he knew it would trigger inflation and unrest?
He inherited a dollar shortage—the country didn't have the foreign currency to keep subsidizing fuel indefinitely. But the timing and execution seem to have been catastrophic. He removed the safety net without a plan to cushion the blow.
Is Morales actually behind these protests, or is Paz just scapegoating him?
Morales denies involvement, and there's no evidence presented that he orchestrated them. But he's certainly amplifying them now, using his radio platform to shape the narrative. Whether he started the fire or just saw it burning and decided to fan the flames—that's harder to say.
Why would the U.S. care about Bolivia's internal politics?
Drug trafficking, regional stability, and the principle that elected governments shouldn't be overthrown. Rubio's statement is a warning to both sides: don't let this spiral into a coup. But it's also a way of saying Washington is paying attention.
Could Paz actually call new elections and survive politically?
Unlikely. If he calls elections within ninety days, he's admitting defeat. If he doesn't, the blockades will continue and the economy will worsen. He's trapped between two bad options.
What does the average Bolivian want right now?
To buy food without it costing a month's wages. To know their hospital has oxygen. To feel like the government has a plan. Right now, they have none of those things.