The Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur) on Monday condemned the acts of violence recorded in Bolivia amid protests demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz. In a statement, the body issued a direct appeal to both government authorities and the Bolivian people to abandon extreme positions and ensure strict compliance with current international treaties.
During a regular session held at Paraguay's Chamber of Deputies, which holds the Parlasur presidency through Deputy Rodrigo Gamarra, lawmakers emphasized the need to uphold the Ushuaia Protocol, the bloc's so-called democratic clause. The document provides for political and commercial sanctions in the event of any breakdown of the constitutional order in Mercosur member states — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay — a bloc to which Bolivia is in the process of full accession.
With the statement, Parlasur reinforced its role "as a zealous guardian of democracy and peace in the region," Gamarra said, according to the statement.
Prior to the session, a regional public hearing titled "Women Farmers: Feeding the Present, Sustaining the Future" was held, organized by the Parliamentary Front against Hunger (FPCH), with the participation of representatives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Aecid).
Rural workers from La Paz, the Bolivian Workers' Union (COB), and supporters of former President Evo Morales (2006–2019) have been protesting since early May against Rodrigo Paz, whom they accuse of breaking campaign promises and seeking to privatize companies and services — claims denied by the authorities. La Paz and the neighboring city of El Alto have been the hardest hit by road blockades, which over the past two weeks have spread to the regions of Oruro, Potosí, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, and Santa Cruz.