Protests in Bolivia | Fifth death in Bolivia due to lack of medical care due to road blockades

A 24-year-old cancer patient lost her life in Bolivia because she could not be urgently transferred from the Andean city of Oruro to La Paz to receive radiotherapy treatment due to road blockades in sectors that require the resignation of President Rodrigo PazThe Ministry of Health reported this Tuesday.

As a result of this pressure measure, some food, fuel and medical supplies, such as medicinal oxygen, are in short supply in these cities.

The peasant blockades began on May 6 in La Paz and have currently spread to eight of the nine departments of Bolivia, although the Andean area, bordering Peru and Chile, and the center are the most affected.

Businessmen have calculated that the economic damage suffered by road closures causes losses that exceed 1.9 billion dollars, aggravating the crisis that the country has been experiencing since 2023.

The Government tried on two occasions to open “humanitarian corridors” for the passage of food and supplies, but these operations, in which the police and military intervened, led to clashes with protesters and riots.

The dialogue initiatives promoted by the Legislature, the Catholic Church, the Ombudsman’s Office and human rights activists did not prosper either, as the protesters insist that Paz must resign.