Bolivia’s President Paz to Reshuffle Cabinet Amid Protests

Bolivia’s right-wing President Rodrigo Paz announced Wednesday that he will reorganize his cabinet as he faces mounting calls for his resignation amid weeks of widespread anti-government protests.

During a press conference, Paz said he would reshuffle his ministers in an effort to ease tensions with protesters demanding his removal from office.

“We need to reorganise a cabinet that must be able to listen,” Paz told reporters.

Since taking office in November, Paz and his government have faced backlash to economic restructuring measures, including controversial cuts to fuel subsidies, as the country experiences one of its worst economic crises in decades.

Protesters have taken to the streets to express frustration with Paz’s free-market reforms, which marked a shift to right-wing leadership after nearly 20 years of governance by the Movement for Socialism (MAS).

Thousands of farmers, laborers, miners and teachers have denounced the reforms, and riot police clashed with protesters again this week in the capital, La Paz.

While Paz acknowledged public frustrations in his remarks, his government has depicted the protests as dangerous and anti-democratic.

Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo said earlier Wednesday that mass protests and roadblocks aimed to destabilize the country and “disrupting the democratic order.”

Former leftist President Evo Morales, who continues to exert political influence, has expressed support for the demonstrations.

The Paz government has accused Morales of fomenting unrest. Morales faces charges of statutory rape and an arrest warrant, though his allies say the charges are an effort to remove him from political life.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed support for Paz, whose election is seen as part of a regional shift rightward.

“Let there be no mistake: the United States stands squarely in support of Bolivia’s legitimate constitutional government,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social media post Wednesday. “We will not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected leaders in our hemisphere.”

Paz also slammed Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has feuded with right-wing governments in the region, for recent comments describing the protests as a “popular insurrection.”

The Bolivian Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that it would ask the Colombian ambassador to leave the country, citing interference in domestic political affairs.

“If they expel the ambassador simply for proposing dialogue and mediation, it means we’re sliding toward extremism that could lead to a very difficult situation for the Bolivian people,” Petro said in an interview with local radio station Caracol.