Sawt Falasteen - Bolivia says protesters trying to 'disrupt democratic order' 

Addressing the Organization of American States (OAS), Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo said weeks of mass protests and roadblocks were "aimed at creating conditions for institutional destabilization, weakening the government...and disrupting the democratic order."

Thousands of farmers, laborers, miners and teachers have been taking to the streets to protest an array of issues in the Andean nation, from galloping inflation and fuel shortages to what they see as Paz's free-market agenda.

Paz assumed the presidency less than six months ago following two decades of socialist rule launched by Indigenous coca farmer Evo Morales in the mid-2000s.

He was elected on a promise to end Bolivia's worst economic crisis in four decades.

He scrapped generous fuel subsidies in hopes of stabilizing the country's dwindling dollar reserves but has so far failed to stabilize fuel supplies -- a key issue in the election.

On Monday, riot police in La Paz fought running battles for hours with protesters who attempted to march on government buildings to demand he step aside.

While a degree of calm has returned to the city, the situation remains tense.

- Shadow of Morales -

Paz's administration has accused Morales -- a fugitive from justice accused of having a sexual relationship with a minor while in office -- of fomenting a coup.

The 66-year-old, who served three terms, attempted to make a comeback last year but was barred from seeking a forth term as leader.

He has expressed solidarity with the protesters.

Morales's supporters fear that the authorities will soon move to arrest him in his coca-growing stronghold of Chapare, where he has been in hiding since late 2024.

Washington has expressed strong support for Paz, part of a new right-wing tide in Latin America, and echoed his "coup" allegations against the protesters.

On Wednesday, the Bolivian government said it was expelling Colombia's ambassador following "interference" by left-wing President Gustavo Petro in the country's affairs.

Petro, known for his broadsides against right-wing governments, labelled the protests a "popular insurrection" against "geopolitical arrogance" in a social media post.

He slammed the expulsion of his ambassador, saying it smacked of "extremism."

Roadblocks erected by the demonstrators across the country have disrupted the transport of fuel, food and medicine, causing widespread shortages.

"We have almost nothing left, it's impossible to even find an egg," Sheyla Caya, 43, told AFP as she queued in La Paz this week to buy a chicken.

H.Jarrar--SF-PST