Bolivia signs deal with COB labour union ending 50-day protest crisis
The Bolivian government has reached a settlement with the powerful COB labour federation, ending a 50-day blockade campaign that paralysed fuel and food supplies across the country. The deal includes a minimum-wage increase, food subsidies and a commitment to renegotiate fuel-distribution contracts; roadblocks around La Paz are expected to lift over the weekend.
The deal was signed in the early hours at the Government Palace in La Paz between COB leadership and Bolivia's labour minister. The text raises the minimum wage by 14%, expands food price controls and opens state oil company YPFB's fuel-distribution contracts to third-party audit. COB leaders said roadblocks across the central Andean corridor would lift over the weekend.
The 50-day blockade had paralysed Bolivia's Andean fuel-import logistics, drying up petrol stations in the capital, tripling vegetable prices and reducing La Paz airport to three flights per day. The Central Bank disclosed that foreign-exchange reserves had fallen 18% in June; yields on Bolivia's 2030 dollar bonds dropped 60 basis points after the agreement was announced.
The political cost is steep: President Luis Arce's support base has weakened and the Evo Morales faction said the COB gains were 'insufficient'. International observers say the planned October 2026 presidential election will determine the deal's durability, and an IMF technical mission is due in La Paz next week to discuss support measures.
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