On 14 March 2025, in La Paz (La Paz), residents staged a demonstration outside the premises of the Food Production Support Company (Emapa) in the city center, blocking some streets, denouncing shortage of basic foodstuff. Demonstrators demanded supply of food products and the normalization of the supply.

Supply-chain Risk Briefing

Summary

On March 14, 2025, citizens held peaceful protests in front of the Food Production Support Company (Emapa) building in La Paz, Bolivia, demonstrating against basic food shortages. Protesters blocked some downtown roads demanding normalization of food supply, with the current risk level assessed as low.

Supply-chain impact

• Bolivia domestic food supply chain: Protests targeting Emapa, the state-owned food distributor, exposed structural problems in the basic food distribution system
• La Paz downtown logistics: Road blockades due to protests may cause temporary delays in short-distance deliveries and commercial activities within the metropolitan area
• Agricultural distribution network: Highlighted vulnerabilities in Bolivia's food subsidy policies and import-dependent food supply structure
• South American landlocked country characteristics: Suggests bottlenecks in Bolivia's imported food procurement routes due to limited coastal access

Watch points

• Need to track whether the Bolivian government announces food supply measures and normalizes Emapa operations
• Monitoring required to see if similar food shortage protest movements spread to other major cities