Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency on Saturday (June 20), authorising wider military deployment to clear road blockades after nearly two months of protests demanding his resignation.

The unrest began after Paz cut long-standing fuel subsidies to reduce the deficit, as the country faced a worsening dollar shortage and entered talks with the International Monetary Fund. Demonstrations escalated into broader discontent, with unions demanding higher wages, an end to fuel and dollar shortages, and the president's departure.

Paz said the crisis had become an organised attempt to destabilise democracy and warned that those maintaining blockades would face legal consequences.

Military vehicles ringed Plaza Murillo in La Paz, while in El Alto, police gathered with heavy machinery to clear highways strewn with stones and debris.

Streets in the capital were largely empty, with residents waiting at bus stops amid acute fuel shortages. La Paz resident David Pacheco backed the decree, saying people in the city had suffered from hunger and high prices.

In the coca-growing town of Bulo Bulo, footage from Radio Kausachum Coca showed supporters of former president Evo Morales keeping vigil at night, armed with sticks, in a region tied to the influential leftist leader.

Paz, who took office with the backing of President Donald Trump as part of a broader strategy to increase U.S. influence in the hemisphere, has blamed Morales - a towering figure of the left who governed for nearly 14 years - for stoking the unrest.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA (JUNE 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

1. VARIOUS OF MILITARY OFFICERS AT BOLIVIAN STREETS GUARDING THE CALA CALA BRIDGE

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (JUNE 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

2. EMPTY PLAZA MURILLO WHERE THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY AND THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACES ARE LOCATED

3. EXTERIOR OF PALACIO QUEMADO ‘BURNED PALACE’, HISTORIC PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

4. VARIOUS OF MILITARY AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PALACE

5. ARMOURED TRUCK AT PLAZA MURILLO

6. VARIOUS OF HIGH MILITARY COMMAND QUARTERS

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (JUNE 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

1. VARIOUS OF MILITARY VEHICLES AT PLAZA MURILLO

EL ALTO, BOLIVIA (JUNE 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

2. POLICE FORCES PREPARING TO CLEAR BLOCKADES

3. HEAVY MACHINERY

4. POLICE FORCES GATHERING

5. POLICE VEHICLES PARKED ON ROADSIDE

6. VARIOUS OF ARMED POLICE FORCES GATHERING

7. LINE OF POLICE VEHICLES ON ROADSIDE

LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (JUNE 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LA PAZ RESIDENT, DAVID PACHECO, SAYING:

"For me, it’s a good measure because many of us in the city of La Paz have suffered from hunger, from a lack of food, and from the high prices of necessities. The government has done well; President Rodrigo Paz did well to declare a state of emergency."

9. EMPTY STREETS

10. PEOPLE WAITING AT BUS STOP

11. BUS DRIVING PAST

12. MAN WALKING ON EMPTY STREET

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LA PAZ RESIDENT, MARTHA QUINONES, SAYING:

"(Declaring a state of emergency is) Very good, because it wasn’t fair to make an agreement with the COB (Bolivian Workers' Center). In the end, the COB has lost all credibility, and we, the people, have suffered 50 days of confinement, without food, without medical attention, without medicine.”

14. EMPTY STREET

EL ALTO, BOLIVIA (JUNE 20, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

15. POLICEMEN AT ROAD CROSSING

BULO BULO, BOLIVIA (JUNE 20, 2026) (RADIO KAUSACHUM COCA - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS) (QUALITY AS INCOMING)

16. VARIOUS OF COCA GROWERS WHO SUPPORT FORMER PRESIDENT EVO MORALES PROTESTING