Bolivian president faces impeachment over fuel protests, scandal

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz faced escalating pressure on Thursday as violent protests erupted across the agricultural heartland over a controversial diesel price hike demanded by the International Monetary Fund, compounding an already severe political crisis involving his closest adviser.

IMF-mandated fuel hike triggers road blockades

Minister of the Presidency Fernando Aramayo told local mayors the government had no choice but to raise diesel prices from $0.85 to $1.56 per liter for large-scale commercial consumers, mining operations, and exporters, noting the measure was a non-negotiable condition for unlocking a $1.9 billion credit facility. While regular gasoline prices remain unchanged, the sudden increase has drawn fierce resistance from at least eight major economic sectors including rice, soybean, and sugarcane producers, as well as national transport unions already suffering from chronic fuel shortages.

The Eastern Agricultural Chamber slammed the decree as "improvised and discriminatory," while producers in the eastern department of Santa Cruz — Bolivia's agricultural engine — erected road blockades on the strategic highway connecting the region to Beni. Security forces deployed tear gas to disperse demonstrators and clear stranded vehicles, enforcing a national state of emergency imposed in June, and agricultural producers in Yapacani issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the immediate repeal of the measure under threat of expanding nationwide disruptions.

Adviser scandal deepens political crisis

The Paz administration is simultaneously battling a corruption scandal centered on Fernando Cerimedo, an Argentine political consultant and key presidential adviser recently arrested in Santa Cruz on charges of attempted femicide against activist lawyer Nadia Beller. Beller accused Cerimedo from her hospital bed of organizing the attack to prevent her from exposing corrupt practices within the executive branch, including alleged illicit enrichment and drug trafficking protection schemes tied to the presidency.

A formal legal petition filed Thursday seeks to compel the Legislative Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against Paz for alleged "treason" and corruption, marking the most serious threat to his presidency amid the worst fiscal crisis the nation has faced in four decades.