Bolivia opens the door to "emergency".Congress gives the president broad powers to use the military.
After weeks of violent demonstrations that shook the administrative capital of La Paz and paralyzed commercial traffic through the blockade of major roads, the scene took an escalatory turn with the Bolivian Congress repealing historic legislation that limited the executive's ability to declare a state of emergency.
This legal shift gives President Rodrigo Paz a broad green light to involve the military in controlling internal security and restricting some civil liberties, in an effort to end the escalating protests.
A decisive vote in the House of Representatives and human rights objections
The shift came after the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Roberto Castro, announced the repeal of the law, which was hastily passed by the Senate earlier.
The decision to cancel was overwhelmingly overwhelmingly in the 130-seat council, reflecting the ruling wing's desire to resolve the unrest on the ground.
Under this measure, President Baz can circumvent the opposition's close parliamentary control over the movements of the security services.
The congressional action was met with harsh criticism from human rights groups and opposition forces, who argued that the repeal of legislative guarantees puts human rights in Bolivia in jeopardy and paves the way for an excessive repression of peaceful protests under the guise of "maintaining democratic stability."
Fuel and salaries crisis. Attempts to calm the situation are "futile"
The developments come as Rodrigo Paz's government struggles to resolve Bolivia's worst economic and operational crisis in decades, with popular anger escalating since trade unions began widespread strikes and protests in early May , demanding an urgent salary increase to keep pace with inflation, ensuring the stability of vital fuel supplies that are in sharp shortages, and improving public economic management.
In an attempt to absorb the growing anger of his leadership and show a kind of government austerity, President Paz announced a 50 percent reduction in his personal salary.
Although his current salary is around 24,000 bolivians (US$3,500)—one of the lowest salaries for Latin American leaders—he is still a symbolic burden in a country where this figure is eight times the average salary of the average citizen, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The Thorny Legacy of 2019 and the Shadows of Evo Morales
The legislative struggle over the "state of emergency" has its roots in the violent social unrest that swept Bolivia in 2019, which killed 36 people and forced the resignation of historic socialist leader Evo Morales.
After Morales' right-leaning successor, Jeanine Añez, came to power, the Socialist-dominated Congress sought to tie the government's hands in the use of military force against protesters through legislation that made the approval of lawmakers mandatory for emergency approval, a law that was overturned.
For its part, the government of President Baz is vigorously defending its current options, considering that the current demonstrations have gone beyond the demands of living and turned into a political agenda aimed directly at "destabilizing the constitutional democratic system." The government has explicitly accused former President Evo Morales—who is currently in hiding over multiple prosecutions and lawsuits against him—of orchestrating and financing these unrest behind the scenes to thwart the current administration and reshuffle the country's political cards.