LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian miners set off dynamite sticks and launched fireworks at police on Tuesday, the eighth consecutive day of protests against economic reforms decreed by incoming President Rodrigo Paz.
Police in La Paz, a city located 12,000 feet (3,660 meters) above sea level, used tear gas and rubber bullets to push back hundreds of protesters, who tried to break through barricades set up around a square where the nation’s Congress is located. Police did not report any arrests.
Last week, hundreds of miners from state owned companies arrived in Bolivia’s capital city to demonstrate against the economic reforms of Paz, the centrist president who was elected in October. The reforms include the removal of fuel subsidies that had been around for two decades.
The protesters have not been joined by many trade groups, including transport workers. But they have been joined by teachers unions and some Indigenous groups. That suggests staunch opposition to the new president’s measures among constituencies aligned with the Movement for Socialism, the party that ruled Bolivia for two decades and was voted out of power this year.
“Our protest is not only against the elimination of the (fuel) subsidy, but against this damned decree that will put the country and new generations in debt,” said Mario Argollo, a leader for Bolivia’s Central Workers Union.
Paz, a former city mayor and legislator, improved relations with the United States after taking office in November, by announcing he would accept an ambassador from Washington. The two countries had not exchanged ambassadors in the past 17 years.
In December, the new president signed a decree that slashes fuel subsidies that economist say worsened a severe shortage of U.S. dollar s that had recently hobbled Bolivia’s economy.
Without the subsidies however, the price of gasoline in Bolivia has almost doubled, rising from 53 cents per liter to $1.
Paz also increased the nation’s minimum wage and issued an economic reform that will enable the nation’s central bank to borrow money without the approval of Bolivia’s legislature.
The president campaigned on a platform known as “capitalism for all” and has promised to reduce interest rates and attract foreign investment to the landlocked South American nation.
Miners march to protest President Rodrigo Paz's decision to remove fuel subsidies in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan)
Miners march to protest President Rodrigo Paz's decision to remove fuel subsidies in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan)
MIAMI (AP) — Nikola Jokic is only going to miss a few weeks, which is surely cause for the Denver Nuggets to take a giant sigh of relief.
The Nuggets' superstar center has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, the team said Tuesday, adding that the three-time MVP will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
It's an obvious blow to the already short-handed Nuggets — but is not a season-ending issue nor one that would require surgical repair. If Jokic misses a month, that means he would be sidelined for about 16 games but could be playing again before February's NBA All-Star Game.
The 6-foot-11 Jokic — considered by many to be the best player in the world right now — got hurt with about three seconds left in the first half of Denver's 147-123 loss in Miami on Monday night.
Jokic entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the NBA in scoring this season at 29.6 points per game, plus leads the league with averages of 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists per contest. The only other player in NBA history to average at least 12 rebounds and 11 assists over a full season was Oscar Robertson for the Cincinnati Royals in 1961-62.
“Obviously, it's part of the game,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said Monday night after the game — speaking before the team got the word on the severity of Jokic's injury. “But we never want to see it happen. ... Next man up. We've got to focus on what's in here.”
Denver has five games left on a seven-game road trip, one that resumes Wednesday when the Nuggets visit the Toronto Raptors.
Jokic was alone under the basket and appeared to step forward to help Denver’s Spencer Jones defend a drive by Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. as time was about to expire in the second quarter. While backtracking, Jones stepped on Jokic’s left foot and it seemed the center’s knee buckled a bit.
Jokic collapsed to the court, grabbing at the knee. He was helped to his feet, then made his way to the locker room under his own power but with a pronounced limp.
Denver has been playing without three would-be starters in Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson. Even after dropping four of their last six games the Nuggets are still currently No. 3 in the Western Conference at 22-10, with Jokic having played in all 32 of those games.
That's about to change, obviously. Denver is 13-23 over the last five seasons when Jokic isn't in the lineup, and any slippage in the coming weeks would be damaging to the Nuggets' playoff positioning. The Nuggets entered Tuesday only three games ahead of Phoenix, which is currently seventh in the conference.
“You just have to stay with it as a team and as a group,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said Monday night. “And honestly, you have to stay with it as a team and a group because that's how you best support your teammates that are out — by honoring them when you play. So, we'll move on from there. This is part of the NBA."
The injury interrupts what might be Jokic's best season of his career. Not only is he leading the league in rebounds and assists, but he’s shooting a career-best 43.5% from 3-point range and tops the NBA with a true shooting percentage — a formula that accounts for 3-pointers and free throws — of just over 71%.
“It’s like a quest for efficiency and consistency, and I think that’s whether he admits it or not, he sees it as a craft,” Adelman said before Monday's game, a couple of hours before the injury happened. “He’s trying to look at it as something, ‘What can I get better over the year at?’ And I think it’s been really impressive to watch him over these years, not be satisfied with it, and attack new journeys.”
The injury and the timeline laid out by the Nuggets could also mean Jokic is ineligible for major individual NBA awards this season. He would have to appear in 65 of Denver's 82 games to be eligible for most awards like MVP and All-NBA; the re-evaluation timeline suggests that he could miss more than 17 games because of this injury.
Jokic has been first or second in the MVP balloting in each of the last five seasons, plus has been voted onto the All-NBA team in each of the last seven seasons.
With Jokic likely headed toward award ineligibility, BetMGM Sportsbook adjusted its MVP odds on Tuesday — installing reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder as the big favorite at -450, well ahead of Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers (+375). Nobody else is close; Detroit's Cade Cunningham has the third-best odds at +4000.
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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) looks for a way around Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Miami Heat center Kel'El Ware, left, defends Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
