"Hundreds of protesters demonstrated across La Paz on Friday, demanding the repeal of Supreme Decree 5503, which eliminates state fuel subsidies and has already driven price rises across multiple sectors. Footage shows members of the 'Ponchos Rojos' blocking the road to Copacabana, while neighbourhood councils from District 8 cut the route towards Oruro, joining dozens of blockades on key transport corridors. “We are here for a cause and a reason, because of decrees 5503, 5515 and 5509, the government cannot run us by decrees,” said Silvia Huallpa Quelca, a resident of Omasuyos Province. Protests come amid mounting public anger over rising living costs following the government’s decision to remove fuel subsidies that had been in place for more than two decades. The subsidies had kept petrol and diesel prices below international levels at a cost of billions of dollars to the state. Demonstrators directly blamed recently elected President Rodrigo Paz, who took office in November 2025, for the economic shock. “Here, Mr Rodrigo Paz, if he does not repeal it, must pack his bags and leave, like Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, he must leave,” said protester Daniel Quispe Mamani. While many demonstrators said they support fuel subsidies in principle, they criticised additional provisions within Decree 5503 that they argue grant excessive power to the central government. “The objective of this blockade is really because of Decree 5503, which is against the people. We are not against subsidies, the people have said ‘subsidies go ahead’,” said Aldo Quispe. The government has defended the decree, arguing that subsidy removal is necessary to curb inflation and stabilise the economy over the long term. Analysts, however, warn that without compensatory measures, the policy risks triggering wider social unrest."