Bolivia's protests deepen as La Paz and Bogota expel ambassadors

Prosecutors in Bolivia issued an arrest warrant on May 18 for Mario Argollo, general secretary of the Bolivian Workers' Center. The charges included terrorism and incitement amid protests and road blockades in La Paz. The warrant landed as demonstrations linked to the country's economic crisis were already spreading.

By May 19 several banks in La Paz had closed as protests intensified and demonstrators demanded the resignation of president Rodrigo Paz. The United States voiced alarm as the unrest moved beyond the capital. The closures added a financial disruption to road blockades that were already slowing daily movement.

On May 20 Bolivia and Colombia expelled each other's ambassadors. The rupture followed comments by Colombian president Gustavo Petro about the anti-government protests. Each government framed the other's remarks as interference, and the ambassadorial expulsions made the dispute public.

President Paz said he planned to reshuffle the cabinet and create an economic and social council after weeks of demonstrations. The plan followed anti-government protests linked to the economic crisis. It was a promise of a new cabinet and a new council, not a claim that the streets had already gone quiet.

Hungary, the same day, proposed a constitutional amendment that would limit prime ministers to eight years in office. The Bolivian crisis and the Hungarian proposal were separate stories, but both touched how long a leader can govern under pressure. In La Paz the immediate issue remained the protests, the warrant for Argollo, and the break with Bogota.

By the end of the week the ambassadorial expulsions, the closed banks, and the cabinet plan were all on the record. None of them amounted to Paz leaving office. Demonstrators were still demanding his resignation when the week's reporting closed.