Bolivia Morales Backers Plan La Paz March on 13 October

Supporters of former president Evo Morales are planning a march to La Paz, the seat of Bolivia’s government. Organisers confirmed it on Sunday, 11 October, and said it would begin Tuesday, 13 October. The march opposes President Rodrigo Paz’s economic measures and challenges a state of exception that bans road blockades.

The starting point is not settled. Organisers mentioned Caracollo, Patacamaya and La Huachaca as possible launch points along the Altiplano highway. They said protests would be staggered and peaceful. Peasant federations from all nine departments were expected to join, according to Franco García.

The government has already deployed police at important highways in Cochabamba. Routes west toward La Paz and east toward Santa Cruz could face checkpoints and delays. The march’s size, exact route and ability to avoid blockades remain unknown, while the COB union federation prepares its own meeting for 15 October.

The protest is being organised by groups aligned with Evo Morales, including the Evo Pueblo movement, the Coordinadora Urbana Popular and peasant federations. Franco García leads the urban coordinator and Evo Pueblo in Cochabamba. Jerson Murillo is a Morales-aligned peasant union leader. García said peasant federations from all nine departments would join.

Their main target is President Rodrigo Paz’s economic programme. It includes a decree removing the diesel subsidy and a plan to close or sell state companies that lose money. These measures affect transport costs, public finances and the future of state-owned businesses. The protest leaders have rejected talks and called for action in the streets.

Other organisations may widen the dispute. The COB, Bolivia’s main trade-union federation, will meet in Cochabamba on 15 October. A CSUTCB faction has rejected the diesel price rise but wants rival leaders to unite before deciding on further action.

Bolivia’s earlier road blockades were exceptionally prolonged: groups loyal to Evo Morales blocked roads for 53 days during May and June. The closures cut supply routes and hurt the economy. That history explains why the planned October march is being treated as a major test for the government and for transport across the country.

The article highlights Cochabamba as the protest’s political base and the main area of police preparation. Officers deployed at Parotani, Suticollo, the Vacas junction and the Huayllani bridge. These positions cover routes west toward La Paz and east toward Santa Cruz. The affected corridors connect three of Bolivia’s most important cities.

The earlier shutdowns show how quickly a political dispute can become a logistics crisis. New checkpoints could delay travellers and shippers from Tuesday. The exact scale is still unknown, because organisers have not said where the march will start or how many people will participate.

In this article, a state of exception is an emergency arrangement used after serious road blockades. Bolivia’s measure restricts blockades and gives authorities stronger powers to keep transport routes open. It was first declared after the May and June shutdowns, when roads were blocked for 53 days.

The Legislative Assembly supported a 90-day extension in September. Under the arrangement, the armed forces can assist the police. Police have already taken positions on key roads and bridges in Cochabamba, including routes toward La Paz and Santa Cruz. Their stated purpose is to prevent new closures.

The measure does not automatically end the political dispute. Morales-aligned leaders confirmed their march despite the restriction and said protests would be staggered and peaceful. The government must therefore balance enforcement with the risk of renewed confrontation. How authorities respond could determine whether roads remain open or the crisis escalates.

Another round of blockades could turn a political protest into a broad supply crisis. President Rodrigo Paz warned that closures starve hospitals of oxygen, push up food prices and stop exports. The earlier blockades already cut supply routes and hurt Bolivia’s economy, showing that the effects can spread beyond the roads themselves.

The mechanism is simple: trucks cannot move normally when highways are blocked. Food deliveries become slower or more expensive, and fuel distribution can be delayed because supply routes are interrupted. Export cargo may also miss its routes. Travellers face detours, checkpoints and long delays, especially on roads linking La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz.

Police have deployed at four points in Cochabamba, but organisers have not disclosed the march’s exact start or size. If blockades return, pressure on prices, hospitals, businesses and exports could intensify. If roads stay open, disruption may remain limited to checkpoints and protest-related delays.

Evo Morales remains influential because he still has an organised political base. The article identifies the Chapare coca-growing region of Cochabamba as his stronghold. Morales also retains support from Evo Pueblo, peasant unions and other left-wing movements. Leaders aligned with him are coordinating the October march and say federations from all nine departments may participate.

His influence is visible through the actions of people around him. Jerson Murillo, a Morales-aligned peasant leader, rejected talks and called for a march. Franco García, an Evo Pueblo leader, announced street action. Morales himself addressed supporters at a Runasur meeting in Villa Tunari and criticised the Shield of the Americas.

Morales left the presidency in 2019, but the article shows that his networks remain active. He faces an arrest order linked to earlier protests, which he rejects. Whether those networks can mobilise large numbers without triggering new blockades remains an open question.

A diesel subsidy is government support that lowers the price users pay for diesel, with the state covering part of the cost. Removing it can improve public finances because the government no longer pays that price difference. President Rodrigo Paz’s plan is part of wider economic measures that also include closing or selling loss-making state companies.

The immediate mechanism works in the opposite direction. When diesel becomes more expensive, buses, trucks and other diesel users face higher operating costs. Transport operators may pass those costs to passengers and businesses. Higher freight costs can then raise prices for food and other goods, especially when supply routes are already vulnerable.

That tension is driving the planned protest. Morales-aligned leaders reject the diesel price rise, while the government says blockades harm hospitals, food prices and exports. The COB and a CSUTCB faction are also considering responses. The eventual effect will depend on whether roads remain open and how widely the higher fuel cost is passed on.