Overview
- Decree 5503 ended a fuel subsidy in place for more than two decades, raising gasoline prices about 86% and diesel about 162%.
- The Paz administration rejects repeal, citing restored fuel supply, a 30% drop in smuggling and roughly $10 million in daily savings alongside wage and social bonus increases.
- COB-led marches in La Paz have continued for consecutive days under heavy police cordons, with only state-employed miners fully observing the indefinite strike.
- Transporters, merchants and cooperative miners halted demonstrations after separate agreements with the Executive, while the COB insists on overturning the decree as a precondition for dialogue.
- Lara said “the tyrants will fall” in a TikTok message backing protesters, prompting the chambers of Deputies and Senators to demand a retraction and warn of potential criminal cases.