Protesters and police clash in Bolivia

TT

Published 20.20

 

Protesters have set up a system to block roads around Bolivia. Police were also deployed against such protests on Friday, including in Carreras. Photo: Juan Karita/AP/TT

Police and anti-government protesters clashed in eastern Bolivia on Saturday.

The riot broke out when riot police, backed by military vehicles, used tear gas to clear a protest blockade of a road in the town of San Julián in the department of Santa Cruz.

The protesters threw stones and burned tires in an attempt to stop the police, according to an AFP reporter on the scene. Two police officers were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds, according to the regional police.

The South American country has been paralyzed by weeks of protests, with demands for the resignation of centrist President Rodrigo Paz.

Paz took office in November promising to solve the country's worst economic crisis in decades. But he has failed to meet many residents' demands for wage increases, economic stability and an end to privatization.