Bolivia crisis spurs OAS forum on protecting democracy, says CIDH chief

At an Organization of American States (OAS) forum in Panama, Edgar Estuardo Ralón, president of the Inter‑American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), warned that protecting representative democracy from violent disorder is a legitimate and urgent task. He stressed that state action must respect the law, ensure security, and allow peaceful expression, and that force must be necessary, proportionate, and promptly investigated.

Rálón’s remarks came amid Bolivia’s escalating crisis that began in May, when campesino and indigenous protests linked to former president Evo Morales blocked roads, causing shortages. President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency after the blockades led to at least 16 deaths, 13 of them from lack of timely medical care. The CIDH pledged technical cooperation to help de‑escalate tensions and investigate violent incidents.

The forum was organized by the U.S. State Department together with the foreign ministries of Bolivia and Argentina, with participation from about twenty OAS member states.