Bolivia’s right-wing President Rodrigo Paz has declared a state of emergency and has deployed the military to end weeks of Indigenous and union-led protests. Protesters had set up road blockades across the country calling for Paz’s resignation and an end to austerity measures. Former Bolivian President Evo Morales has backed the protest movement.

Evo Morales: “In my view, this is a rebellion by the Indigenous movement against the neoliberal model and against the neocolonial state. As time goes by, the government has moved faster. It has tried to implement it, even without authority. In December, it already issued a supreme decree to put the entire neoliberal model in place.”