Right-wing candidates are the frontrunners in the presidential elections scheduled for 17 August; marked by economic crisis and division in the ruling socialist ranks, they are expected to end 20 years of leftist rule

Seven presidential decrees have introduced economic reforms covering fuel supply, imports, electricity tariffs, pensions and mining, as the government seeks to boost investment and stabilize the economy

A new emergency legislation has been enacted: it expands the police and army’s range of action in regulating protests; President Paz responded to the demonstrations of the past month, that he described as led by “drug trafficking interests”

Main public hospitals in La Paz are rationing oxygen and medical supplies and began postponing surgeries due to the impact of 16 days of road blockades: the care of hundreds of patients is at risk, according to warnings from directors of medical centers

A series of 17th-century documents recently brought to attention by UNESCO reveal that the trafficking of Africans to exploit Bolivia’s Cerro Rico silver mines was the origin of the Black community in the country