Workers organized by a key union rally in Bolivia against scrapping fuel subsidies

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian miners marched in downtown La Paz, the country's capital, and union-organized protesters took to the streets elsewhere on Monday, the first day of a strike over the government's scrapping of fuel subsidies that have been blamed for contributing to dollar shortages and economic turmoil.

The protests were called for by Bolivia’s Central Union of Workers but many trade groups, including transportation workers, did not join the rallies. Some union leaders said they would go along with the elimination of the subsidies, which had been in place for almost two decades.

Bolivia's centrist President Rodrigo Paz, who took office on Nov. 8, ended the fuel subsidy that previous left-wing governments had maintained for more than 20 years, keeping gas prices at $0.53 per liter. An emergency decree by Paz last week put the price of gasoline at around $1 per liter.

“The country is sick and must be healed,” Paz said on Sunday in a town hall meeting that was broadcast on state television.

“Every day, $10 million is spent on a subsidy that benefits smugglers” who resell the subsidized fuel in Bolivia and abroad, Paz added.

Business groups in Bolivia have backed Paz’s new economic measures, which are expected to ease dollar shortages and make it easier for companies to import goods and capital.

“We knew that at some point the subsidies would end” said Luis Paco, a union leader representing merchants in the city of El Alto. “There were no negotiations over the new adjustments, but we knew this was inevitable.”

Bus drivers unions stayed away from Monday’s protests after Bolivia’s government said they will be able to import auto parts duty-free. Paz has also mandated a 20% increase in the minimum wage.

Imports of gasoline and diesel — costing the government up to $3 billion a year — had depleted foreign currency reserves and worsened Bolivia's biggest economic crisis in four decades, following the decline of the nation’s natural gas exports.

But unions that have traditionally aligned with left-wing political leaders — including those representing miners and coca growers — went on strike on Monday, demanding that fuel subsidies be reinstated.

La Paz police sealed off access to the central square where the palace housing the government is located, to prevent demonstrators from entering.

In the neighboring city of El Alto, local councils blocked some avenues. There were also road blocks on highways in six of the country’s nine regions, according to Bolivia’s highway administration agency.

“We are in the streets in a struggle that will continue until that decree eliminating the subsidy is repealed,” mining leader Andrés Paye told reporters. “This government approves regulations to favor business owners and punish the poor.”

Unions aligned with former President Evo Morales, led a massive march in Cochabamba, the Andean country’s third-largest city, and blocked two major highways in the east of the country.

The bus drivers unions did not join the strike, after negotiating over the weekend with Paz's new government.

“We will continue to work, to serve the people” said Lucio Gomez, a leader of a transport workers union.

Carlos Cordero, a political science professor in La Paz, said the union behind the strike was trying to “show its strength” ahead of next year's elections for governors and mayors. But the relatively low turnout on Monday showed that the union has been weakened, he said.

“In many sectors of the country, there is a conviction that the adjustment was necessary” Cordero said.

Miners march to protest President Rodrigo Paz's decision to remove fuel subsidies in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan)

Miners march to protest President Rodrigo Paz's decision to remove fuel subsidies in La Paz, Bolivia Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan)

A miner chews coca during a march to protest President Rodrigo Paz's decision to remove fuel subsidies in La Paz, Bolivia Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan)

Miners march to protest President Rodrigo Paz's decision to remove fuel subsidies in La Paz, Bolivia Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan)

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A small Mexican Navy plane transporting a 1-year-old medical patient along with seven others, crashed Monday near Galveston, killing at least two people, officials said.

Emergency officials rescued four people and were searching for two that were inside the aircraft, Mexico’s Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press. Four of the people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians, according to the Navy. It was not immediately clear which ones were missing and which had been killed.

The crash took place Monday near the base of a causeway near Galveston, along the Texas coast about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of Houston.

Mexico’s Navy said in a statement that the plane was helping with a medical mission and had an “accident.” It promised to investigate the cause of the crash.

The Navy is helping local authorities with the search and rescue operation, it said in a post on the social media platform X.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration were expected to arrive at the scene of the crash, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on X.

The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol were responding to the crash.

“The incident remains under investigation, and additional information will be released as it becomes available,” the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook, adding that the public should avoid the area so emergency responders can work safely.

Galveston is an island that is a popular beach destination.

It's not immediately clear if weather was a factor. However, the area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

He said that at about 2:30 p.m. Monday a fog came in that had about a half-mile visibility. The foggy conditions are expected to persist through Tuesday morning.

Emergency personnel rush a victim of a small plane crash to an awaiting ambulance, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, near the causeway, in Galveston, Texas. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

Galveston Police officers watch the water on Galveston Bay west of the Galveston causeway, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, near Galveston, Texas, as emergency personnel search for a small airplane that went down in the bay in heavy fog. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

Emergency personnel rush a victim of a small plane crash to an awaiting ambulance, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, near the Galveston causeway, near Galveston, Texas. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)