Sawt Falasteen - Bolivian Congress gives Paz power to use troops against crippling protests

A month of heated demonstrations calling for the center-right Paz to step down have paralyzed the Andean nation, with blockades causing severe food and medicine shortages.

Endless lines at the pump have also led many to sleep in the vehicles to not lose their place.

A bill relaxing the country's strict rules surrounding states of emergency passed the lower chamber following 15 hours of overnight debate, the body's president, Roberto Castro, announced.

Having already passed the Senate, it heads to Paz's desk for signature.

The new law comes a day after dozens of riot police backed by military vehicles fired tear gas as they attempted to clear a road in the town of San Julian.

The town is in the Santa Cruz region -- an agricultural breadbasket supplying food to the country's western areas.

Protesters threw stones and burned tires to try to halt the police's advance, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

Paz on Sunday wrote on X that that the capital La Paz and second city El Alto are "still facing difficult times, but concrete progress is also beginning to be made," including on fuel distribution.

The US-backed, pro-business Paz took office in November promising to resolve the country's worst economic crisis in decades, but his unpopular economic reforms and failure to respond to social demands have roused public ire.

- Legal liability -

He has repeatedly called for dialogue with the protesters but on Wednesday announced the legislation seeking to amend the country's state of emergency laws.

The new rules would allow troops to use force against protesters, and grants them a "presumption of legality" in situations of conflict.

The issue of legal liability for the military was one of the most heated debates.

The new protections are "not only necessary, but also useful -- very useful -- so that there are police and military personnel who, in the face of violence that is destroying our rights... are willing to protect us," said ruling party lawmaker Carlos Alarcon.

The military thus far has had limited involvement in clearing roadblocks, playing a supporting role to the riot police.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump's new Shield of the Americas alliance -- an anti-cartel coalition that includes pro-US administrations in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile among other countries -- gave Paz its unequivocal backing.

"We stand with Paz's democratic government as it fights back against attempts to drag Bolivia backwards through cynical efforts to prevent the delivery of food, medicine and other vital supplies to the Bolivian people through fake road blockades," the alliance members said in a statement.

T.Khatib--SF-PST