On August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instantly obliterating the cities and leaving hundreds of thousands dead upon impact. These were cold-blooded experiments in mass murder where the U.S. deliberately targeted these cities, relatively untouched by previous bombings, to test its new weapon's destructive power on a civilian population. It remains one of history's most aggressive acts of war, a stark example of the U.S.'s barbaric imperialist will. Extensive U.S. nuclear tests have also damaged the people's health and environments in many Pacific islands and atolls as well as on and near native American tribal lands, while medical tests in its clandestine laboratories have likewise damaged the health of numerous voluntary and involuntary human test subjects.

81 years after, the greatest driver of nuclear proliferation remains to be the U.S. itself. From the Cold War arms race with the Soviet Union to its current war against Iran and the the build up to war in Asia and the Pacific against China, the U.S. has repeatedly used its nuclear arsenal as a tool of intimidation to suppress adversaries and as a false justification to start wars against them. This strategy has only reinforced the lesson that nuclear deterrence may be the only reliable safeguard against American aggression.

From its continued investment in nuclear weapons to its wars of aggression launched under the guise of preventing adversaries from acquiring nuclear capabilities, it is clear that the U.S. has never been concerned with the devastation these weapons unleash. Instead, it actively promotes proliferation among its allies and uses the specter of it to wage wars that have killed millions.


The Specter of Nuclear Weapons and U.S. Renewed Wars in West Asia

Since the development of nuclear weapons and their use by the U.S., the country has used rhetoric around nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction to create a pretext for war and invasions. In the 2025 and 2026 bombings against Iran, the U.S., in partnership with Israel, repeated the same move it made in 2003 when it falsely claimed that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. The WMD lie of the Bush Administration led to brutal U.S. invasion and occupation that tore the country apart, killed close to 1 million people, devastated infrastructure including hospitals and schools, and left the country's people in political chaos and dependent on U.S. oil and development corporations to this day. The U.S. wanted Iran and its people to suffer the same fate.

Iran was not targeted because it is a threat to the world and is on the path to possess nuclear weapons; Iran was targeted because it was the strongest state in the region standing up to the genocidal expansionism of the Zionist entity and because it is the main roadblock in the way of full U.S.-led domination over West Asia.

The so-called "nuclear talks" between Iran and the U.S. have never been about diplomacy or finding common ground on foreign policy goals between two equal states. Instead, the U.S., one of the largest holders of nuclear weapons in the world and the only state in history to ever use nuclear weapons in warfare, used the talks to manipulate public opinion, obfuscate the facts, and build justification for war with Iran. Trump has said his goals were to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon, but the Islamic Republic has stated throughout its entire political existence that it has no intention to build a nuclear weapon and public inspections by the IAEA have confirmed this reality.

During the war in Iran relentless U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have targeted not only military installations but also essential civilian infrastructure, including power grids, water treatment facilities, hospitals, and food supply chains. More than 600 schools have been demolished or damaged across Iran, with over 1,000 students and teachers killed or injured. In the bombing of the Minab primary school in early March, the U.S. and Israel murdered at least168 children in a single missile attack.


Push for Further Rearmament in Asia and the Pacific

In the Asia and the Pacific, the U.S. continues its incessant build up to war against China. By arming Taiwan to protect its semiconductor supply chain, rapidly expanding military alliances and military infrastructure in Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines, and conducting provocative war games in the South China Sea and the Korean peninsula, Washington is systematically escalating tensions with its chief rival and nuclear power. These actions, from troop deployments to joint drills near China's borders, are not defensive but incendiary, pushing the world towards a potential world war between nuclear powers.

This aggressive posture is now being reinforced to the upcoming new U.S. nuclear strategy. Reports coming out in August 2026 show that the Trump administration is drafting a nuclear strategy that would expand options for using shorter-range nuclear weapons in a regional war with China and Russia. The annual U.S. nuclear posture review , a report on their policy of how and when to use nuclear weapons, comes just six months after New START, the last treaty limiting U.S. and Russian strategic arsenals, expired without renewal, leaving the two largest nuclear powers without binding limits or inspections for the first time in decades. The expansion of the use of short-range nuclear weapons by the U.S. lowers the "acceptable" nuclear threshold and pushes the use of nuclear weapons to an even more inevitable outcome of U.S.-led wars.

As part of its island chain strategy in its build up to war with China, the U.S. has enlisted Japan as a junior imperialist ally. This has led Japan, the target of the U.S. nuclear bombs in 1945, to start revising its peace constitution which currently prohibits Japan from going to war if not for self-defense. Military agreements forged after WWII enable the U.S. to station more troops in Japan than anywhere else in the region. One-fifth of Okinawa’s land is occupied by U.S. bases. Right-wing Japanese governments have pushed for constitutional changes which would allow Japan to re-arm offensively, leading to rising defense spending since 2007 and a doubling of the budget by 2023.

In line with the Pivot to Asia, the U.S. continually rolls out new agreements. The Japan-U.S.-Korea alliance (JAKUS) and Japan-Philippines-U.S. alliance (JAPHUS) expand the U.S. military’s network, formalizing regular war games, enhancing intelligence-sharing and missile integration targeting China, and creating an anti-China economic bloc. These measures amount to an iron web of alliances in preparation for war against China.


The U.S. Spends Billions on Advancing Nuclear Weapons

The United States spent a record $69.2 billion on nuclear weapons in 2025, surpassing all other nuclear-armed nations combined. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) requested $32.80 billion for FY2027, a 29% jump driven by warhead stockpile maintenance, production modernization, and nuclear triad (air, sea and land based nuclear weapons), a three-part military force structure used to deliver nuclear weapons, upgrades. The U.S. is not only "modernizing" its old arsenal but leading in the production and proliferation of new nuclear weapons.

This spending represents the largest among the nine nuclear-armed states, which together spent nearly $119 billion in 2025. The U.S. investment is part of a broader $71 billion effort to upgrade all three legs of its nuclear triad: the B-21 Raider bomber, the Columbia-class submarine, and the LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM. The FY2027 budget also supports seven simultaneous warhead modernization programs, including the B61-13 gravity bomb.

The investments show that the U.S. is planning to go far beyond maintaining an aging arsenal and is instead expanding it drastically. For instance, the NNSA aims to produce 80 new plutonium pits annually by 2030, intended for the production of new nuclear weapons. The companies set to profit from this nuclear buildup are some of the largest weapons and war transnational corporations in the world, which have also been profiting from the war of the genocide against the Palestinian people, the invasion of Venezuela and the current war against Iran. General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries were awarded a joint $76.6 billion contract to build 14 new Virginia- and Columbia-class nuclear submarines. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the new LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM, a program projected to exceed $141 billion in lifecycle costs, while Bechtel partners with Northrop on the missile's ground infrastructure and silo construction. Other major players include Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Boeing, which are involved in various missile systems and aerospace components across the nuclear triad.


Resist U.S. Nuclear Proliferation, Defeat U.S. Imperialism, and Assert the Right of Peoples to Defend Themselves Against U.S. Barbarism

As we pointed out in our primer "Resisting Imperialist Nuclear Threats":
     "The United States brought nuclear weapons into the world and then decided to arm its allies, attempting to use these weapons to impose its will wherever it pleased. The history of nuclear warfare, from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the current three fronts of U.S.-led conflict, exposes the fundamental contradiction on the issue of nuclear weapons: while imperialist powers use atomic weapons to threaten and dominate, anti-imperialist states have developed them to prevent further war on their own people.

     Meanwhile, thousands have engaged in advocacy efforts to reduce the U.S. nuclear triad, demand cleanup and compensation for damages, and block the U.S. $1.7 trillion nuclear modernization program. Although the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has accumulated 94 signatory states since it entered into force in 2021, making nuclear weapons internationally illegal, the U.S. has no vision in sight toward dismantling its arsenal or joining the treaty.

     The US-led war machine has been at the head of the imperialist system for decades, therefore making it the main perpetrator and provocateur of nuclear proliferation. We must understand that the US refuses to give up its arsenal and, instead, is plowing headfirst into a potential nuclear catastrophe as a result of its imperialist agenda.

     The solution is not to impose disarmament on oppressed nations, but rather the complete dismantling of the U.S. imperialist war machine and its nuclear terror apparatus."

El pueblo boliviano, particularmente los trabajadores, campesinos y pueblos indígenas, ha estado movilizándose, bloqueando carreteras y resistiendo durante más de tres semanas. Se levantan como pueblos indígenas que rechazan el saqueo de su tierra por parte de extranjeros como una continuación del colonialismo. Las protestas han convergido en la exigencia de la renuncia del presidente Rodrigo Paz, quien asumió el cargo en las elecciones de agosto de 2025 después de que Evo Morales fuera inhabilitado para postularse debido a un caso penal dirigido políticamente en su contra.

El conflicto escaló desde las protestas contra el Decreto Neoliberal 5503, que eliminó los subsidios a los combustibles, agravando la crisis económica y de combustible, y después contra la Ley de Tierras 1720, que atentaba contra la propiedad de los pequeños productores, hasta convertirse en una exigencia generalizada de renuncia del presidente, hasta el momento se presume que 4 campesinos perdieron la vida durante los desbloqueos y sólo el pasado martes, unos 25 arrestados. Aun así, el pueblo continúa exigiendo la renuncia del presidente Paz.

El expresidente Evo Morales, quien proviene de una familia aymara indígena de campesinos de subsistencia en Isallawi, Cantón Orinoca, y fue líder de un sindicato campesino, logró importantes reformas en la sociedad boliviana en apoyo a los sectores pobres y oprimidos.

Durante los 14 años de su presidencia (2006-2019), la pobreza extrema en Bolivia se redujo a más de la mitad, aumentó la matriculación en la educación primaria y secundaria, y las lenguas indígenas pasaron a formar parte del currículo escolar. Nacionalizó la industria del gas natural, desafiando a las multinacionales que explotaban el país y redistribuyó esa riqueza para financiar servicios sociales e infraestructura, reformando fundamentalmente las estructuras neoliberales y racistas de Bolivia, dictadas por la clase dominante blanca neocolonial según los dictados de Estados Unidos. La presidencia de Morales marcó una nueva constitución y declaró a Bolivia como un Estado Plurinacional, reconociendo su diversidad indígena y enfatizando la descolonización del país.

Contexto: Del golpe de 2019 a la crisis actual

En 2019, un golpe inconstitucional derrocó a Evo Morales, involucrando a Jeanine Áñez, Luis Fernando Camacho (oligarquías agroindustriales de Santa Cruz), Carlos Mesa y Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga (conocido operador y colaborador de la CIA). El gobierno transitorio de Añez, generó una crisis económica aún mayor, corrupción, desmanteló empresas estatales y saboteó sectores nacionalizados, desviando la riqueza del país lejos de las necesidades del pueblo.

2020: Tras el golpe contra Morales, la derechista Jeanine Áñez, asumió como presidenta interina, hasta que la movilización popular forzó nuevas elecciones, en la que tuvo que presentarse Luis Arce Catacora quien ganó el proceso electoral representando al MAS, llegando al poder Arce se encargaría de la proscripción de Evo Morales.

Hoy, las protestas responden a amenazas urgentes contra el sustento y la dignidad del pueblo boliviano.
Medidas económicas y privatización: Tras varias semanas de marchas masivas y bloqueos de carreteras, los trabajadores bolivianos lograron forzar al recién inaugurado gobierno neoliberal de Rodrigo Paz a derogar el controvertido Decreto 5503, conocido popularmente como "gasolinazo", que eliminaba los subsidios a los hidrocarburos en Bolivia, elevando los precios hasta un 162%.

Privatización de la tierra y aumento de precios: Sin embargo, el gobierno de Paz respondió con nuevos Decretos 5516, 5517, 5518 y 5598, que privatizan recursos estratégicos individualmente, dividiendo la privatización por sectores, buscando dividir el movimiento. Una medida rechazada por el sector campesino fue la Ley 1720 (Marinkovic), que permitiría la confiscación de pequeñas propiedades campesinas como garantía bancaria, beneficiando a los grandes empresarios agroindustriales de Santa Cruz que llevaron a cabo el golpe de 2019. Fue impulsada y aprobada en tiempo récord en la Asamblea Legislativa en aproximadamente 10 días, sin consultar a los campesinos que se verían drásticamente afectados por esta ley.

Crisis de servicios básicos: Los precios de la gasolina subieron un 100% (de 3,74 a 6,96 bolivianos) y la mala calidad dañó los motores. El Banco Central anuló toda la Serie B de billetes tras un accidente aéreo, provocando pánico económico. El costo de los alimentos básicos se disparó tras la eliminación de subsidios y se permitió la importación de productos extranjeros, socavando la soberanía. En comparación con las políticas de nacionalización del gobierno de Evo Morales, el país experimenta una crisis de servicios básicos porque el gobierno quiere vender el país a empresas transnacionales en lugar de proteger a su población.

Corrupción e inestabilidad: Autoridades del Gobierno terminaron implicadas en el denominado caso de tráfico de cocaína escondida en volúmenes de exportación de madera conocido como el caso de la "Narco Madera", Asimismo, en el caso de 32 maletas llenas de Cocaína ingresadas con supuestos pasaportes diplomáticos en el aeropuerto de Viru Viru, la impunidad de estos casos también generó rechazo en la población. Por otro lado, en el proceso de captura de el Narcotraficante paraguayo Sebastián Marset que gozaba de la protección del Gobierno Boliviano de Arce y Rodrigo Paz, personal de la policía boliviana, fiscales y jueces, se vieron involucrados en la desaparición de cajas fuertes, relojes y dinero pertenecientes a Marset, todo esto a la fecha no se ha esclarecido completamente y no hay responsables, mostrando una total impunidad del narcotráfico y la corrupción del gobierno. Esto motivó aún más al pueblo boliviano a seguir luchando.

Movilización popular y creciente unidad y militancia de la lucha

Primera fase fue la Marcha por la Tierra en donde Miles de indígenas marcharon desde Pando (norte de Bolivia, frontera con Brasil) hasta La Paz, en el occidente boliviano: campesinos e indígenas caminaron miles de kilómetros durante tres semanas defendiendo la tierra y la vida. Llegaron con niños, ancianos y adultos mayores; el pueblo de La Paz se solidarizó con comida, albergue y curaciones. El gobierno se negó a negociar con ellos, calificándolos de "desestabilizadores y vándalos con fines políticos".

Escalamiento de la lucha: La Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) se unió, con la demanda del incremento salarial y contra la privatización de ENDE (que provee electricidad). Tras dos semanas de protesta constante en las ciudades de La Paz y Cochabamba, las clases populares de la ciudad de El Alto (que tiene una historia revolucionaria desde la Guerra del Gas de 2003) lanzaron los bloqueos de protesta y rodearon La Paz, extendiéndose luego a otras ciudades como Sucre y Potosí y Santa Cruz.

Todos los sectores se unieron a la lucha y comenzaron a movilizarse, incluidos transportistas, mineros, campesinos, la clase media y maestros. La resistencia está organizada y unida. Hubo un pacto entre trabajadores, campesinos y sectores movilizados de que nadie traicionaría la lucha hasta el final. Por ejemplo, cuando el gobierno comenzó a negociar bonos con los maestros, las bases de los profesores rechazaron el acuerdo de la dirigencia y continuaron participando de la movilización.

El, 27 de mayo, las madres salieron a las calles declarando: "¡Cuando el pueblo tiene hambre, las madres salen a luchar!" Otras tácticas incluyen huelgas de hambre, movilizaciones obreras y marchas diarias al Congreso. El pueblo está en lucha y ha pasado un punto de no retorno para exigir sus derechos y derrotar al régimen neoliberal de Paz y sus conspiradores.

Represión letal contra el pueblo respaldada por el fascismo estadounidense

En lugar de dialogar y negociar con los dirigentes sindicales y las organizaciones populares, el gobierno emitió órdenes de arresto contra dirigentes de la Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), tratándolos como "vandalos" y "desestabilizadores". Actualmente, el ejecutivo de la COB enfrenta una orden de captura, que supuestamente no sería ejecutada por el Gobierno para facilitar el diálogo, pero no existen garantías reales porque la orden de aprehensión sigue vigente, y el pueblo no cree en la palabra del Gobierno.

Hubo tres intentos de represión y desbloqueo por parte del Gobierno: el 14 de mayo, en Rioseco, y el 16 de mayo en la ciudad de El Alto, ambos derrotados por las protestas populares. El 23 de mayo, el gobierno intentó abrir un llamado "corredor humanitario" para romper los bloqueos, pero llegó armado por los militares y masacró a varios campesinos que eran parte de las protestas. Aunque el gobierno niega haber asesinado a los campesinos, ha sido probado por informes forenses y otras pruebas contundentes la victima del comunario de Aroma, y el pueblo se ha indignado aún más, radicalizando aún más la lucha. Desde que iniciaron los conflictos existen al rededor de 100 detenidos, y solo el martes pasado se registraron 25 nuevos arrestos.

También existen organizaciones de derecha como la Unión Juvenil Cruceñista, la Resistencia Juvenil Cochabamba y la Resistencia Kilómetro Cero, compuestas por jóvenes fascistas que creen y buscan la supremacía política y racial de las élites blancoides. Han comenzado a hacer amenazas. La comisión de derechos humanos ordenó al Estado boliviano desmantelar estos grupos tras el golpe de 2019, pero ellos continúan rearticulándose y amenazando al pueblo, incluso intentando despejar caminos enfrentándose a los campesinos. Debido al ocultamiento y cerco mediático, la prensa informa sobre ataques contra el gobierno y retrata a los dirigentes sindicales como vándalos, pero oculta la represión y las muertes de manifestantes.

Espacios urgentes de lucha en este momento

Estado de excepción: El gobierno prepara un inminente estado de excepción. El 25 de mayo, el gobierno anuló la Ley 1341, que protegía los derechos fundamentales durante los estados de excepción (pero limitaba la duración a 60 días y requería aprobación legislativa). Esta anulación permite declarar un Estado de Sitio sin garantías constitucionales, otorgando impunidad para reprimir con el ejército y la policía. El día de ayer 27 de mayo en la noche, se denunció la llegada de un Avión militar del Gobierno Estadounidense al aeropuerto de Cochabamba, y se procedió al corte de luz en toda la región del Trópico de Cochabamba, lugar donde se encuentra resguardado el Ex Presidente Evo Morales. Por estas razones el movimiento popular que realiza una vigilia nocturna en Lauca Ñ, redobló los esfuerzos de seguridad para proteger la vida del exmandatario y líder cocalero. Si se declara un estado de sitio, el Gobierno de Paz encajaría en la figura de dictadura.

Amenaza a Evo Morales y las Federaciones campesinas del Trópico de Cochabamba:  Tras quedar en evidencia el proceso de Proscripción de Evo Morales y el movimiento campesino, él permanece protegido por organizaciones sindicales en el trópico cochabambino. Y corre el riesgo de ser capturado y extraditado a Estados Unidos por casos armados de narcotráfico y otros; algunos informes ya indican que la DEA estadounidense está colaborando con el gobierno boliviano en planes de "extracción" ilegal, similar al caso del presidente Maduro en Venezuela. Sin embargo, la movilización y rebelión del pueblo boliviano en las calles aún impiden realizar está invasión extranjera en territorio boliviano, lo que protege el futuro y la tierra de los pueblos oprimidos en la sociedad boliviana.

Exigencias del movimiento:

1. Renuncia de Rodrigo Paz
2. Convocatoria a elecciones en 90 días si el presidente renuncia.
3. Constituir un nuevo Gobierno que respete la Constitución y defienda la Economía Popular
4. Levantar la Proscripción electoral de Evo Morales y del movimiento campesino, para garantizar la representación de la base popular en el gobierno, el pueblo no quiere elegir sólo entre opciones de derecha, eso no es Democracia.
5. Alto a las masacres, persecución judicial de dirigentes y criminalización de la protesta.
6. No al Estado de excepción con impunidad para matar, restablecimiento de la Ley 1341 que regula y protege derechos fundamentales en Estados de Excepción. 
7. Alto a las medidas neoliberales: de privatización de la tierra, empresas estatales, defensa de salario según la canasta familiar y fuentes de empleo para el sustento del pueblo.

Para más información, sigue la página de Facebook de la Asamblea Popular Itinerante API y el ILPS Bolivia.

¡Nuestro movimiento internacional por la paz justa debe elevar nuestra solidaridad con el pueblo boliviano que está en pie de lucha!

¡Resistimos al Escudo de las Américas de Trump! ¡Rechazamos el gobierno asesino de Rodrigo Paz!

¡Viva la Solidaridad con el pueblo de Bolivia! ¡Viva el movimiento indígena originario campesino boliviano!

The Bolivian people especially workers, peasants, and Indigenous peoples have been mobilizing, blocking roads, and resisting for over three weeks. They are rising up as Indigenous peoples rejecting the looting of their land by foreigners as a continuation of colonialism. The protests have converged on the demand for the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz, who took office in the August 2025 election after Evo Morales was disqualified from running due to a politically targeted criminal case against him.

The conflict escalated from protests against neoliberal Decree 5503, removing fuel subsidies driving up a fuel and economic crisis, and Land Law 1720, deregulating land titles especially of small farmers, into a widespread demand for the president's resignation, with four peasants killed during attempts to clear blockades and more than 25 arrested. Still, the people remain committed to protesting until President Paz resigns.

Former President Evo Morales, who comes from an indigenous Aymara family of subsistence farmers in Isallawi, Orinoca Canton, and was a leader in a campesinos (rural laborers) union, had accomplished major reforms in Bolivian society in support of the poor and oppressed sectors.

During his presidency from 2006-19, Bolivia's extreme poverty fell by more than half, primary and secondary school enrollment increased and indigenous languages became part of the curriculum in schools. He nationalized Bolivia's natural gas industry, challenging the multinationals exploiting the country and redistributed this wealth to fund social services and infrastructure, fundamentally reforming the neoliberal and racist structures of Bolivia dictated by the neocolonial white ruling class according to US dictates. Morales' presidency marked a new constitution and declared Bolivia a plurinational state, recognizing its indigenous diversity and emphasizing the decolonization of the country.

Context: From the 2019 Coup to the Current Crisis

 In 2019, an unconstitutional coup overthrew Evo Morales, involving Jeanine Áñez, Luis Fernando Camacho (agro-industrial oligarchies of Santa Cruz), Carlos Mesa, and Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga (known CIA operative). The transitional government generated an even greater economic crisis, corruption, and dismantled state enterprises and nationalized sectors, diverting the country's wealth away from the people's needs.

2020: Following the coup against Morales, right-wing politician Jeanine Añez assumed the role of interim president, until popular mobilization forced new elections, but blocked Evo from running.

Today the protests respond to urgent threats against to the livelihood and dignity of the Bolivian people

Economic Measures and Privatization:  After several weeks of mass marches and road blockades, Bolivian workers succeeded in forcing the recently inaugurated neoliberal government of Rodrigo Paz to repeal the controversial Decree 5503, popularly known as the “gasolinazo,” which eliminated hydrocarbon subsidies in Bolivia driving up prices as much as 162%.

Land Privatization and Price Increases: However, the Paz government responded with new Decrees 5516, 5517, 5518, and 5598, which privatize strategic resources on an individual basis, dividing privatization by sector in an attempt to fracture the movement. One measure rejected by the peasant sector was Law 1720 (Marinkovic), which would allow the confiscation of small peasant properties as bank collateral, benefiting the large agribusiness owners of Santa Cruz who carried out the 2019 coup. This law was pushed through and approved in record time by the Legislative Assembly in approximately 10 days, without consulting the peasants who would be drastically affected by it.

Basic Services Crisis: Gasoline prices rose by 100% (from 3.74 to 6.96 Bolivianos), and poor quality damaged engines. The Central Bank voided the entire Series B of banknotes after a plane accident, causing economic panic. The cost of basic food staples skyrocketed following the elimination of subsidies, and the importation of foreign products was allowed, undermining sovereignty. Compared to the nationalization policies of the Evo Morales government, the country is experiencing a basic services crisis because the government wants to sell the country to transnational corporations rather than protect its population.

Corruption and Instability: Government authorities ended up implicated in the so-called cocaine trafficking case involving drugs hidden in wood export volumes, known as the "Narco Wood" case. Likewise, in the case of 32 suitcases filled with cocaine brought in under alleged diplomatic passports at the Viru Viru airport, the impunity surrounding these cases also generated public rejection. Furthermore, during the process of capturing Paraguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset—who enjoyed the protection of the Bolivian government of Arce and Rodrigo Paz—Bolivian police personnel, prosecutors, and judges were involved in the disappearance of safes, watches, and money belonging to Marset. To date, none of this has been fully clarified, and no one has been held responsible, revealing total impunity for drug trafficking and government corruption. This has further motivated the Bolivian people to continue fighting.

Popular mobilization and growing unity and militancy of the struggle

First Phase: March for the Land: Thousands of indigenous people marched from Pando (northern Bolivia, on the border with Brazil) to La Paz, in western Bolivia: peasants and indigenous people walked thousands of kilometers over three weeks, defending the land and their way of life. They arrived with children, the elderly, and seniors; the people of La Paz showed solidarity by providing food, shelter, and medical care. The government refused to negotiate with them, labeling them "destabilizers and vandals with political aims."

Escalation of the Struggle: The BCentral Obrero Boliviano(COB) joined, demanding wage increases and opposing the privatization of ENDE (which provides electricity). After two weeks of constant protest in the cities of La Paz and Cochabamba, the popular classes of the city of El Alto (which has a revolutionary history dating back to the 2003 Gas War) launched protest roadblocks and surrounded La Paz, later spreading to other cities such as Sucre, Potosí, and Santa Cruz.

All sectors joined the struggle and began to mobilize, including transport workers, miners, peasants, the middle class, and teachers. The resistance is organized and united. An agreement was made among workers, peasants, and mobilized sectors that no one would betray the struggle until the end. For example, when the government began negotiating bonuses with the teachers, the teacher rank-and-file rejected the leadership's agreement and continued participating in the mobilization.

On May 27th, mothers took to the streets declaring: "When the people are hungry, mothers go out to fight!" Other tactics include hunger strikes, worker mobilizations, and daily marches to Congress. The people are in struggle and have passed a point of no return to demand their rights and defeat the neoliberal regime of Paz and his conspirators.

Lethal Repression against the People Backed up by U.S. Fascism 

Instead of dialoguing and negotiating with union leaders and popular organizations, the government issued arrest warrants against COB leaders, treating them as "vandals" and "destabilizers." Now, the executive  leader of the COB s facing a warrant for his arrest.

There were three attempts to clear the protest blockades by the state: on May 14, in Rioseco, and on May 16 in the city of El Alto, both defeated by the people's protests. On May 23, the government tried to open a so-called "humanitarian corridor" to break the blockades, but it came armed by the military and massacred four peasant comrades. Although the government denies killing the peasants, it has been proven by forensic reports in Aroma, and the people have become even more outraged, radicalizing the struggle even further.  As of yesterday, there were 25 newly registered arrests.

There are also right-wing organizations such as the Cruceñista Youth Union, the Cochabamba Youth Resistance, and Kilómetro Zero Resistance, composed of young fascists with swastikas who believe in racial supremacy. They have begun making threats. The human rights commission ordered the Bolivian state to dismantle these groups after the 2019 coup, but they continue to threaten the people, even attempting to clear roads by confronting peasants.  Due to the media blackout, the press reports on attacks against the government and portrays union leaders as vandals, but hides the repression and killings of protestors.

Urgent Areas of Struggle Right Now

State of Exception: The government is preparing an imminent state of exception. On May 25, the government repealed Law 1341, which protected fundamental rights during states of exception (but limited the duration to 60 days and required legislative approval). This repeal allows for the declaration of a State of Siege without constitutional guarantees, granting impunity to repress using the army and police. Last night, on May 27, it was reported that a US government military plane arrived at Cochabamba airport, and a power outage was carried out throughout the entire Tropics of Cochabamba region, where former President Evo Morales is being sheltered. For these reasons, the popular movement that is holding a nightly vigil in Lauca Ñ has redoubled its security efforts to protect the life of the former president and leader. If a state of siege is declared, the Government of Paz would become a dangerous dictatorship.

Threat to Evo Morales and the Peasant Federations of the Tropics of Cochabamba: Since the extradition plot and proscription against Evo Morales and the peasant movement was exposed, Morales is being protected by union organizations in the tropics of Cochabamba. He runs the risk of being captured and extradited to the United States on fabricated charges of drug trafficking and others; some reports already indicate that the U.S. DEA is collaborating with the Bolivian government on plans for illegal "extraction," similar to the case of President Maduro in Venezuela. However, the mobilization and rebellion of the Bolivian people in the streets are still preventing this foreign invasion on Bolivian territory, thereby protecting the future and land of the oppressed peoples in Bolivian society.

Demands of the movement:

1. Resignation of Rodrigo Paz
2. Call for elections within 90 days if the president resigns.
3. Formation of a new government that respects the Constitution and defends the People’s Economy
4. Lifting of the electoral ban on Evo Morales and the peasant movement, to ensure representation of the grassroots in government; the people do not want to choose only between right-wing options—that is not democracy.
5. Stop the massacres, the judicial persecution of leaders, and the criminalization of protest.
6. No to a state of emergency that grants impunity for killing; reinstate Law 1341, which regulates and protects fundamental rights during states of emergency.
7. Stop neoliberal measures: the privatization of land and state-owned enterprises; defend wages based on the cost of living and ensure sources of employment to sustain the people.

For more information, follow the Facebook page of the Asamblea Popular Itinerante API (Itinerant Popular Assembly) and International Le Bolivia

Our international movement for just peace must strengthen our solidarity with the Bolivian people who are fighting on the front lines!

Resist Trump’s “Shield of the Americas”! Defeat the murderous government of Rodrigo Paz!

Long live solidarity with the people of Bolivia! Long live the Bolivian Indigenous and peasant movement!