Supporters of Evo Morales will march from the highlands to La Paz to increase pressure on the strike against the Paz government.

Evo Morales rallies his supporters to protest against the Bolivian government (AP Photo/Juan Karita, Archive). Former Bolivian President Evo Morales announced this Sunday that his followers will begin a six-day march on Tuesday from the altiplano town of Caracollo, about 190 kilometers from La Paz, to demand that the government of President Rodrigo Paz abandon what he calls "neoliberal and privatizing" policies. The mobilization, named "March for Life to Save Bolivia," was decided by Evo Pueblo, the political organization that Morales promotes from the Trópico de Cochabamba, and is scheduled to reach the government headquarters on May 18. Morales made the announcement on his Sunday program on the Kawsachun Coca radio station, which is linked to the coca grower unions of Chapare. The decision was made on Saturday at a national meeting of Evo Pueblo in Lauca Ñ. The conclusions of the meeting stated that the march will be coordinated with the Confederation of Peasant Workers' Unions of Bolivia (Csutcb), the Bolivian Workers' Central (COB), and the teachers' unions. This protest adds to the major social crisis that Bolivia is experiencing since Paz took office in November 2025. Since May 1, the COB—the largest labor union in the country—has been holding an indefinite general strike declared at a town hall meeting in El Alto. The union is demanding a 20% wage increase and a commitment not to privatize state-owned companies, demands that the government has rejected, arguing that the minimum wage has already increased by that proportion in January. This conflict is compounded by road blockades in the altiplano region of La Paz and in the municipality of Caranavi, which have been cutting off the supply of food and fuel to the north of the La Paz department for almost two weeks. The statement from Evo Pueblo expands the demands beyond the wage conflict. The organization—which still lacks legal status—rejects a possible increase in fuel prices and questions the partial constitutional reform and the ten new laws that Paz announced on Saturday at a "National Meeting" in Cochabamba. Morales stated that these regulations aim at "the privatization of natural resources and basic services." They also demand the repeal of Law 1720, which regulates the conversion of small agricultural properties into medium-sized properties, although its repeal is opposed by productive sectors in Santa Cruz. Evo Morales' supporters plan to reach the government headquarters on May 18 (EFE/Jorge Abrego). Morales dismissed the idea that the alliance with the COB is based on ideological reasons. "There is no longer any ideological difference here; for me, it is about defending the basic family needs," he said, according to the EFE agency. He also confirmed that the march will continue even if the Legislative branch repeals Law 1720, indicating that the protest has a political scope that goes beyond that specific demand. The Paz government is entering this situation weakened. In November 2025, President Paz inherited an economy with 20% inflation, a shortage of dollars, and a lack of fuel. His initial measures—the withdrawal of subsidies, cuts in spending, and opening up to foreign investment—fractured the relationship with the unions that had politically supported Morales and Luis Arce (2020-2025). In response to the protests, the executive branch accused Morales of coordinating the blockades and presented audio recordings that allegedly implicated him; the Chequea Bolivia verification site determined that at least one of those recordings dated back to June 2025, during Arce's presidency. With the arrival scheduled for May 18, Evo Pueblo seeks to unite its march with the COB strike and the existing peasant blockades. If this convergence solidifies, the Paz government will have to face a united front whose demands—wages, energy, and constitutional—will be difficult to address with a single response.