Bolivia's Ombudsman Identifies Seven Factors Fueling Potential Conflicts

The Bolivian Ombudsman's Office has identified seven critical factors that could ignite future conflicts, with the departments of La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz emerging as hotspots for pre-conflict signals. The report, covering June 20 to August 20, 2026, highlights that while the government's state of exception initially curbed immediate crises like national blockades and restored transit on major routes, it failed to address the root causes of societal unrest.

Instead, these underlying issues have transformed into persistent sectoral, territorial, and economic demands. The Ombudsman's findings indicate that various organizations are poised to resume mobilizations once the state of exception concludes, fueled by the seven identified factors. These include ongoing issues with fuel availability and the price of diesel, which has shifted from a supply problem to a matter of cost and its impact on production.

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The defensorial monitoring conducted between June 20 and August 20, 2026, allows us to establish that the state of exception fulfilled an immediate containment function against the national crisis of blockades, managing to reduce resistance points in a few days and restore transitability on the country's main routes. However, the findings show that this extraordinary measure did not resolve the structural causes of conflict, which remained active and transformed into sectoral, territorial, and economic demands.

The report specifically points to the government's Decree 5676, which not only raised diesel prices but also failed to resolve sectoral grievances. This has led to continued protests, such as the current road blockade by Beni producers demanding action on the decree. The departments of La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz are consistently identified as the primary regions exhibiting these conflict alerts, underscoring the concentrated nature of the country's socio-economic tensions.

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Fuel: It continues to be the main transversal factor of conflict. Price of diesel: The discussion has moved from supply to price and its effects on production.