Bolivia Faces Widening Unrest as Morales Supporters Protest Against President Paz

May 19, 2026

Bolivia faces escalating political crisis as thousands of supporters of former leftist president Evo Morales clash with police in La Paz on May 19, 2026, demanding the resignation of center-right President Rodrigo Paz. Road blockades over 16 days have stranded 5,000 trucks, caused over $50 million daily in losses, and created severe shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies. Paz, Bolivia's first elected conservative leader since 2006, eliminated fuel subsidies to address the country's worst economic crisis in 40 years, while Morales orchestrates protests from hiding to evade arrest on charges related to a sexual relationship with a minor. Eight Latin American nations issued statements supporting Bolivia's democratic order, while Argentina launched a humanitarian airlift to address shortages.

Morales supporter protests

▪Security forces pushed back protesters with canisters of tear gas before protesters could reach Congress or the presidential palace in La Paz on May 19, 2026.
▪Evo Morales supporters clashed with police in La Paz, Bolivia on May 19, 2026 as they called on President Rodrigo Paz to resign.
▪Evo Morales marshaled the May 19, 2026 march from his hideout in Bolivia's remote tropics.
▪The public prosecutor announced 90 arrests following the May 19, 2026 protests in La Paz.
▪Thousands of Evo Morales' followers converged on the plaza outside the government headquarters in La Paz, Bolivia on May 19, 2026.
▪Dynamite blasts during the May 19, 2026 protests in La Paz forced staffers and lawmakers to evacuate.

Paz presidency challenges

▪Rodrigo Paz negotiated with some protest groups, reaching deals in recent days before May 19, 2026 with striking miners and teachers who agreed to end their demonstrations.
▪Bolivia was reeling from its worst economic crisis in 40 years as of May 19, 2026.
▪Rodrigo Paz deployed thousands of police and military officers across La Paz to try to break the blockades over the weekend before May 19, 2026.
▪Rodrigo Paz is Bolivia's first elected conservative leader since 2006.
▪Rodrigo Paz came to power as Bolivia's president six months before May 19, 2026.
▪Rodrigo Paz's victory highlighted Bolivians' disillusionment with two decades of political domination by Evo Morales' Movement Toward Socialism party.

Road blockade impacts

▪Road blockades in Bolivia have strangled cities and triggered food and fuel shortages in the two weeks before May 19, 2026.
▪Business chambers report the road blockades in Bolivia cause over $50 million in losses a day.
▪Road blockades in Bolivia stranded around 5,000 trucks on highways over 16 days before May 19, 2026.

International diplomatic response

▪The United States State Department issued an alert during the week of May 19, 2026 urging U.S. citizens traveling to Bolivia to be vigilant.
▪Eight allied Latin American governments, from Chile to Costa Rica, released a joint statement rejecting any action aimed at destabilizing Bolivia's democratic order.

Morales legal troubles

▪Evo Morales has been holed up in the highlands of Bolivia for the past year and a half before May 19, 2026, evading an arrest warrant on charges relating to his sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
▪Evo Morales was held in contempt of court during the week before May 19, 2026 after he failed to appear for a trial.