LA PAZ — The Bolivian Workers' Centre (COB) union declared an indefinite general strike last Friday, demanding reforms to agricultural, educational and labour policies following the end of a decades-old fuel subsidy. Protests entered a third day, with transport workers, public employees and educators joining the action across multiple cities.

"Starting today, a general, indefinite and active strike is declared, until the government understands the people's demands," COB Secretary-General Mario Argollo said. Three separate groups have called for reforms to agricultural, educational and labour policies.

On Tuesday, COB members, alongside transport and education workers, marched through the streets, leading to clashes with police. Law enforcement officers fired tear gas at protesters near the presidential palace in La Paz. In El Alto, public workers blocked streets with buses, cars and trucks.

The strikes brought public transport to a halt in La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba, Oruro and Sucre. According to the Bolivia Highway Association, the actions created at least 70 roadway blockages.

Transport workers said they were forced to use lower-quality fuel after the subsidy ended, and that their cars, trucks and buses sustained engine damage as a result. They are demanding compensation from the government for the damage to their vehicles, along with shorter queues at filling stations and road repairs.

Bolivia ended the decades-old fuel subsidy that had kept petrol prices at 2006 levels. Under the subsidy, a litre of diesel cost 3.72 bolivianos and a litre of premium petrol cost 3.74 bolivianos. Without the subsidies, a litre of diesel costs 9.80 bolivianos and a litre of premium petrol costs 6.96 bolivianos.

A teachers' union is calling for a state-funded "single free public education system." Protesters are also seeking pension increases and cuts to salaries for government officials. The country's minimum wage, which took effect in January, is 3,300 bolivianos per month, up from a previous level of 2,750 bolivianos set in 2025.

"If you want to raise salaries, first create jobs," President Rodrigo Paz said in a statement. Paz, a centre-right politician, was elected last year. When he took office, Bolivia's liquid reserves were less than one month of imports and total debt stood at 95 percent of GDP.

In February, the government sought $3.3 billion in financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund. By March, the finance minister said the nation would make dollar bond coupon payments, and Moody's raised Bolivia's credit rating that month. Bolivia's inflation was 15 percent in March, down from a 25 percent peak in July of the previous year.