Petition: End the State of Emergency in Bolivia!

A highly repressive scenario now exists in Bolivia that seriously threatens fundamental democratic rights and severely restricts political freedoms. This situation demands the broadest possible attention, vigilance, and condemnation, both nationally and internationally. 

On June 20, 2026, the government of Rodrigo Paz issued Supreme Decree No. 5636, declaring a nationwide state of emergency. This decision came amidst profound social discontent, to which the State responded with repression and measures designed to silence protest.

Since taking office toward the end of 2025, the government has implemented a drastic austerity  package that places the burden of the county’s economic crisis on workers, peasants, and Indigenous people while benefiting the largest corporations. Labor unions and groups that defend workers’ rights, land, natural resources, and democratic freedoms are facing increasing state and paramilitary violence. Persecution, racist criminalization, judicial harassment, and a troubling  media blackout — including both private and state media — have intensified since the mobilizations of May and June 2026.

The state of emergency has institutionalized and deepened this repressive climate. Under the pretext of “restoring normalcy,” the government has used the emergency measures to suppress those who mobilized against its policies while continuing to implement its agenda of austerity and privatizations.

The measures deploy the Army to maintain “public order” and authorize check points along roads and critical infrastructure. They also restrict many democratic freedoms, including freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. At the same time, they provide the grounds for criminal charges, including the charge of terrorism, against demonstrators. Finally, they broaden legal immunity for the police and military forces. Although the state of emergency was initially declared for 90 days, it may be extended by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.

These violations remain virtually invisible in the mainstream media, which reproduces the official narrative demonizing the popular movement. According to the La Paz Departmental Prosecutor’s Office, as of the publication of this statement, there are 114 criminal cases related to road blockades against 335 people, and 26 people are in pretrial detention.

The government has launched a targeted crackdown on union leaders and social movement  activists, accusing several of terrorism and demanding sentences of up to 20 years in prison. Among those detained are leaders such as Vicente Salazar of the Tupac Katari Departmental Federation of Peasants, David Quispe of the CSUTCB peasants organization. Others like David Mamani, are the subject of arrest warrants. Many more  remain in hiding, because they believe  there are no minimum guarantees for due process. The persecution also extends to their families: dozens of wives and partners have been prosecuted for charges such as “concealment” and “complicity.” This repressive policy exposes children and entire families to situations of extreme vulnerability. It also reveals the deeply racialized and patriarchal nature of the persecution.

The few independent human rights organizations that remain active in the country have denounced the violent raids, torture, surveillance, intimidation, and harassment carried out by the government. The State of Emergency functions as a gag order intended to paralyze any possibility of organization and protest in the country. It affects everyone, but especially the most exploited and oppressed sectors of society. In doing so, it threatens even the most basic forms of free social and political expression.

None of these events are happening in isolation. The use of the terrorism narrative and the persecution of activists are consistent with Paz’s alignment with Donald Trump’s agenda, as demonstrated by the participation of the Bolivian Foreign Ministry, along with others in the region, in the “Summit against the Resurgence of Political Terrorism,” organized by Marco Rubio. This narrative takes us back to the worst moments of the national security doctrine, the military dictatorships, and Plan Condor in Latin America.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, emphatically condemn each and every one of these acts of persecution against social movement leaders and activists and their family members. We reject the racist and patriarchal criminalization of working-class, peasant, and Indigenous communities. We demand an end to the state of emergency, the release of all detainees, and that all charges against them be dropped. We also extend an invitation to all workers’, peasants’, students’, human rights, youth, women’s, feminist, and LGBTQ+ organizations, both in Bolivia and around the world, to join this campaign and bring international attention to it.