STORY: :: La Paz, Bolivia / May 14, 2026
:: Bolivian miners clash with police as protests demanding President Paz's resignation turn violent
"We do not want any dialogue or anything. We only want the resignation of the president no matter what. He leaves the good way, or he leaves with social upheaval."
:: Jorge Tuto Quiroga, Former Bolivian president
"Bolivia is at a critical moment. The national spirit is wounded, the democratic heart is grieved and the institutional soul is in deep anguish, as a result of what we are experiencing."
:: Police fired tear gas at miners trying to storm the capital's central square
Demonstrators confronted police as they tried to enter Plaza Murillo, the city's central square, throwing what appeared to be dynamite sticks, according to a Reuters witness.
The unrest marks an escalation of weeks of social upheaval, with miners rejecting dialogue and demanding the president's immediate departure.
Local miners are demanding greater access to explosives and fuel, as well as revisions to contracts and the implementation of mining regulations. The miners, along with farmers and other union-aligned groups, have been demonstrating as the country's economic and fuel crisis worsens due to a shortage of U.S. dollars and falling domestic energy production.
