Bolivian president to reshuffle cabinet amid anti-government protests 

Bolivia’s right-wing President Rodrigo Paz has said that he will reorganise his cabinet as he faces calls for his resignation amid weeks of widespread protests.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Paz said he would reshuffle his ministers in a bid to ease tension with anti-government protesters.

“We need to reorganise a cabinet that must be able to listen,” Paz told reporters.

Since taking office in November, Paz and his government have faced backlash to economic restructuring measures, including controversial cuts to fuel subsidies. The country is currently in one of its worst economic crises in decades.

Protesters have taken to the streets in Bolivia to express frustration with Paz’s free-market reforms. His inauguration ushered in a period of right-wing leadership after nearly two decades of governance by the Movement for Socialism (MAS).

Thousands of farmers, labourers, miners and teachers have denounced the reforms, though. Riot police clashed with protesters again in the capital city of La Paz earlier this week.

While Paz acknowledged frustrations in his remarks on Wednesday, his government has depicted the protests as dangerous and anti-democratic.

Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo said earlier in the day that mass protests and roadblocks were aimed at destabilising the country and “disrupting the democratic order”.

Former leftist President Evo Morales, who continues to exert influence over the country’s politics, has expressed support for the demonstrations.

The Paz government, meanwhile, has accused Morales of fomenting unrest. Currently, the former socialist president faces charges of statutory rape and is currently the subject of an arrest warrant. His allies, however, say that the charges are part of an effort to remove him from political life.

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has expressed support for Paz, whose election is seen as part of a regional shift rightwards.

“Let there be no mistake: the United States stands squarely in support of Bolivia’s legitimate constitutional government,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social media post on Wednesday. “We will not allow criminals and drug traffickers to overthrow democratically elected leaders in our hemisphere.”

Paz also slammed Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has frequently feuded with right-wing governments in the region, for recent comments describing the protests as a “popular insurrection”.

The Bolivian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that it would ask the Colombian ambassador to leave the country, citing interference in domestic political affairs.

“If they expel the ambassador simply for proposing dialogue and mediation, it means we’re sliding toward extremism that could lead to a very difficult situation for the Bolivian people,” Petro said in an interview with the local radio station Caracol.