Massive Indigenous-Led Protests in Bolivia Decry "Political Exclusion," Demand End to Austerity

Protests in Bolivia are demanding the resignation of Rodrigo Paz, the country’s first right-wing president in decades. Since Paz took office in November 2025, the country has been placed under austerity measures that have led to a surge in poverty rates for much of Bolivia’s rural and working-class population. We speak to Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network in Cochabamba, Bolivia, about the monthlong protests. “Bolivia is a country where, for 19 years, Indigenous people and social movements enjoyed equal rights and political inclusion,” she explains. “There’s a huge break between what Paz promised and what he’s done in practice, which is select a white, upper-middle-class Cabinet with only two women, reject any genuine dialogue, reject interaction with the Bolivian social movements, or even have any empathy for people and what they’re going through day to day.”

Ledebur also discusses the Paz administration’s growing ties with the Trump administration as the U.S. seeks to expand its so-called war on drugs throughout Latin America.