Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at anti-government protests in Bolivia, Iran threatening to expand the war beyond the Persian Gulf, and Russia’s failure to clinch big gas deals with China.

‘Ongoing Coup D’état’

Bolivia’s political capital may be named for peace, but for the past two weeks, sweeping anti-government protests have paralyzed the city of La Paz, plunging Bolivia into one of its worst political crises in decades.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at anti-government protests in Bolivia, Iran threatening to expand the war beyond the Persian Gulf, and Russia’s failure to clinch big gas deals with China.

‘Ongoing Coup D’état’

Bolivia’s political capital may be named for peace, but for the past two weeks, sweeping anti-government protests have paralyzed the city of La Paz, plunging Bolivia into one of its worst political crises in decades.

Upon taking office just six months ago, center-right President Rodrigo Paz vowed to enact “economic shock therapy” to reverse the country’s rising inflation rates and devastating fuel shortages. Among his signature austerity measures, Paz ended a 20-year fuel subsidy program, arguing that a free market would bring higher-quality crude to Bolivia. Instead, though, shortages continued. Even worse, it was discovered that millions of liters of imported fuel had been adulterated, producing “junk gasoline” that transport operators said damaged their vehicles.

Since then, protesters—led by some of the country’s most powerful unions—have called for Paz’s resignation while demanding higher wages and a steadier fuel supply. The result has been catastrophic for Paz’s government, which holds a minority in parliament, as it has reinvigorated calls for former President Evo Morales to return to office.

“As long as structural demands—such as those concerning fuel, food and inflation—remain unaddressed, the uprising will not be quelled,” Morales wrote on X. The former president is believed to be hiding in Bolivia’s Chapare province to evade an arrest warrant for refusing to appear in court to face charges related to his alleged........

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