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Original article: La rebelión popular le rompe el gabinete a Paz: renuncian ministros de Defensa y Educación en Bolivia

A popular uprising in Bolivia has shattered Rodrigo Paz’s cabinet, as the ministers of Defense, Marcelo Salinas, and Education, Beatriz García, have submitted their irrevocable resignations to the right-wing leader amid a growing wave of multisector protests against the neoliberal adjustments promoted by his administration.

The departures of the government officials occurred on the 33rd day of social unrest, during which members of the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), farmers’ organizations, miners, and workers have sustained massive protests and blockades across more than 90 locations in various regions of the country.

The unified demand from all sectors involved is clear: an immediate resignation of Paz, who has only served for seven months amidst an intense governance crisis.

According to reports from TeleSUR citing unofficial sources, Salinas and García chose to resign after refusing to sign a decree for a state of emergency following the enactment of Law 1732, which eliminates the requirements for military intervention in social conflicts.

The measure pushed by Paz received approval from more than two-thirds of the Senate and 66% of the Chamber of Deputies, giving the right-wing president a free hand to legitimize the repression of large-scale protests.

This legal instrument, seen as a tool to criminalize dissent, would permit the Armed Forces to intervene in roadblocks disrupting the supply of food, medicines, and fuel in La Paz.

As reported by the cited outlet, the resignations came after an internal coordination meeting convened by the Bolivian president at the government headquarters in La Paz. Salinas, who took over the Defense portfolio in November 2025—a strategic area controlling military and state security—will be replaced by Ernesto Justiniano, previously the Deputy Minister of Social Defense and Controlled Substances.

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Local media indicate that Justiniano, known as Bolivia’s «anti-drug czar,» was appointed at the explicit request of the U.S. embassy to facilitate intervention in the Cochabamba Tropics, a stronghold of former president Evo Morales.

The new minister was a political operator for Paz in Santa Cruz and recently traveled to Washington to pave the way for the return of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to Bolivian territory.

Meanwhile, Beatriz García’s resignation from the Ministry of Education came without detailing her reasons for stepping down, and a successor has yet to be announced.

The dual vacancy deepens the crisis within the cabinet, which had already seen the resignation of Labor Minister Edgar Morales on May 21 due to pressure from the COB and labor unions that have been marching in the streets for over a month.

Social organizations have ruled out any possibility of dialogue with the Executive, which continues to criminalize protests, as the country experiences one of the most extensive road closures in its recent history.

The list of popular demands includes, besides the resignation of Paz, the release of detained leaders, annulment of projects like the so-called Anti-Blockade Law, and outright rejection of privatization initiatives that the government is attempting to push in favor of powerful economic sectors.

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