Bolivia plans cabinet shakeup amid protests, dismisses Colombian ambassador

LA PAZ, May 20 (Reuters) - Bolivian ‌President Rodrigo Paz ​on Wednesday ​said that he would reshuffle his cabinet in response to weeks of nationwide protests over austerity measures , while his government expelled Colombia's ambassador on grounds ‌of interference in internal affairs.

“We are going to reorganise the cabinet,” Paz told ⁠journalists at a press conference . “The president cannot be everywhere, the president cannot solve all the problems."

He did not ‌give a timeline for the ‌reshuffle or detail what changes it would entail.

Tensions have been high in Bolivia for weeks as protests that began with strikes in early May have grown into a nationwide ​movement involving labour unions, miners, transport workers and rural groups, raising concerns in Washington. Protesters are pressing Paz’s centrist government to roll back austerity measures and address rising living ⁠costs, with some calling for his resignation.

Bolivia’s foreign ministry said earlier on Wednesday it had asked Colombia’s ambassador, Elizabeth Garcia, ​to leave, citing sovereignty concerns and interference in internal affairs, following social media comments by Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro.

Petro earlier this week described ​Bolivia’s unrest as a “popular insurrection”.

“If they expel the ‌ambassador simply for proposing dialogue and mediation, it means we’re sliding toward extremism,” Petro told local radio Caracol.

He also reiterated that Colombia was willing ⁠to serve as a mediator to facilitate dialogue among the opposing factions in Bolivia.

International concern has been mounting over the unrest, with banks closing branches in La Paz and roadblocks disrupting supplies, as unions, ⁠miners and rural groups demand economic relief.

Paz on Wednesday described his Colombian counterpart’s conduct as “reproachable”.

“Petro’s attack is ​an attack on Bolivian democracy because he has prioritised his ideology,” he told journalists.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on Tuesday he had spoken with Paz and warned that those defeated in last ‌year’s election were trying to remove him from power. The European Union and several European embassies have meanwhile called for dialogue and peaceful ‌demonstrations.

Bolivia’s foreign ministry said the move to expel the Colombian ambassador was in line with international ⁠law and did not represent a ‌break in diplomatic ties with ​that country.

(Reporting by Daniel Ramos and Lucinda Elliott; Additional reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Iñigo Alexander; Editing by ‌Sanjeev Miglani)

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