Vivian Palomequi, a leader of a peasant farmers' union, walked more than 560 miles (900km) from the Bolivian Amazon to the capital, La Paz, arriving in late April to protest a law she fears would accelerate deforestation and land privatization. "We declared a state of emergency and started marching," she said. "We had no other choice."
Mass Mobilizations Against Environmental Policies
The march was part of a wave of pushbacks against the environmental policies of Bolivia's new government, which has staffed ministries with former agroindustry leaders, struck deals to open protected areas to mining, and criminalized environmental defenders. Mass Indigenous and peasant mobilizations are not new to Bolivia, with similar marches occurring in the 1990s and early 2000s from the Amazonian lowlands to La Paz.
Resistance to extractive projects continued under the last two decades of leftist rule, including under Evo Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous president, who championed pro-environmental rhetoric while facing criticism for ecologically destructive policies. That record is continuing under the new administration.
President Rodrigo Paz's Policies
Inaugurated in November, President Rodrigo Paz ran as a centrist with few environmental proposals beyond a plan for domestic carbon markets. Eight months into his five-year term, activists and analysts argue his policies have worsened the extractive agendas of previous administrations. "It's the same old policy," said Ruth Alipaz, an Uchupiamona Indigenous leader. "When a crisis hits, the response is to ramp up resource extraction – and that takes place right inside our territories and protected areas."
Stasiek Czaplicki Cabezas, a Bolivian environmental economist, said the government promised "to change the model" but instead doubled down on extractivism.
Land Law Sparks Protests
A change in land law passed in early April drove Palomequi and hundreds of other peasant farmers to march on La Paz. The law allowed small family-owned plots, constitutionally protected from being sold, divided, or seized by banks, to be converted to medium-sized holdings, exposing them to foreclosures and corporate buyouts. Proponents argued it would help smallholders access formal finance, but Indigenous and peasant farmers feared land dispossession and accelerated agroindustry expansion.
"When a small property enters a free commercial land market, it turns into a financial asset," said Alcides Vadillo, a regional director of environmental non-profit Fundación Tierra. "From that moment on, it can be traded, sold, divided up or foreclosed on." Protests forced the government to repeal the law in May, with a replacement planned later. Czaplicki Cabezas warned that converted properties could see higher deforestation rates in 10 years.
Agroindustry Influence in Government
The marches occurred against a backdrop of unprecedented agroindustry influence in the new government. The former president of Anapo, a powerful soya bean and wheat producers' association, now leads the development planning and environment ministry. The former president of the CAO, Bolivia's other main agribusiness lobby, was appointed minister of productive, rural and water development. Czaplicki Cabezas noted that corporate agroindustry "doesn't need to negotiate with an intermediary, which is the government. They are the government."
Mining Deregulation
Activists are also alarmed by deregulation of Bolivia's mining sector. In May, the Paz administration signed an agreement with mining cooperatives, lifting barriers to operating in protected areas and Indigenous lands. In April, a ministerial resolution reduced legal requirements for nearly 4,000 non-compliant mining operations. Gold mining, fueled by lax regulations and record global prices, was already expanding across Bolivia's tropical lowlands, contaminating Indigenous territory with mercury and encroaching on national parks. Alipaz said the deals "will create a complete lack of control when it comes to mining in Indigenous territories, the Amazon and protected areas."
Government deference to mining is not new; small and medium-scale mining cooperatives have long leveraged political representation. With a history of organizing national road blockades, the sector holds immense leverage. "The government is afraid because it doesn't want to confront the miners," said Alipaz.
Criminalization of Environmental Defenders
Nelly Coca, a community leader from the Tariquía national reserve in south-eastern Bolivia, spent last Christmas and new year acting as a human shield to block Brazilian hydrocarbons company Petrobras from entering the reserve. After police forcibly dismantled the blockade, Petrobras initiated legal proceedings against Coca and 16 other activists, seeking a criminal investigation. Petrobras Bolivia stated it holds an environmental licence for the project since July 2025 and complies with all legal requirements.
Coca, whose mayor Rodrigo Paz had pledged to protect the reserve, said: "Now he's the chief architect of its destruction. If we are defending the environment, if we are protecting the water, I think we should be applauded for it – not persecuted the way we are." Thomas Becker, a human rights lawyer, called it an example of "Bolivia's failure to secure the free, prior and informed consent required under both its constitution and international law."
Broader Environmental Concerns
Edgar Carpio Chávez, a peasant union leader who marched with Palomequi, said: "We voted for him, and he invited us to his inauguration, and even paid for our travel. Now look how things have changed – he left us with no choice but to walk more than 1,200km just to get him to listen."
In just eight months, the Paz administration has also authorized the use of genetically modified HB4 soy, considered controversial hydroelectric projects, and supported parliamentary initiatives to open the country to carbon credits. Czaplicki Cabezas warned that a lack of work to remove dry combustion material could leave Bolivia vulnerable in a fire season intensified by El Niño. "Prevention of forest fires is not part of the current government's policy," he said.
Palomequi concluded: "We marched for our dignity and our rights, and the government refused to meet with us. But when the agribusiness lobby arrives, they get meetings immediately. What's clear now is that we have to remain vigilant. We are on high alert."
