Early this morning, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared his country to be in a “state of exception” –martial law—in which police and military forces were deployed nationwide to “liberate” highways and roads that had been blockaded for six weeks by protesters demanding an end to Paz’s neoliberal reforms and in some cases his resignation. Chief among the protesters were the indigenous and labor groups affiliated with former President Evo Morales.
Paz’s declaration came just one day after he and five cabinet ministers met in a closed-door session with Mario Argollo, Secretary General of the powerful Bolivian Trade Union Confederation (COB) and his delegation, and signed an agreement in which the COB leader pledged to end the blockades nationwide. Several media reports indicate that Paz did not advise Argollo ahead of time of the impending state of exception. He reportedly promised Argollo that he would not privatize public sector companies, which was one of the protesters’ demands, but there is little additional information as to other commitments he has made.
