Period of civil unrest in Bolivia
The 2003 La Paz riots, commonly referred to as Black February (Spanish: "Febrero Negro"), was a period of civil unrest in La Paz, Bolivia, that took place between 12 and 13 February 2003. The riots were instigated by the imposition of a progressive salary tax—dubbed the "impuestazo"—aimed at meeting the International Monetary Fund's goal of reducing the country's fiscal deficit from 8.7% of GDP to 5.5%. The legislation mobilized a diverse array of groups against the proposal, including business sectors, trade unions, and university students.
The culmination of public unrest came when the National Police Corps mutinied against the government, leading to violent armed confrontations between police and the Army. On the second day of rioting, the government and police reached an agreement, and law enforcement quelled the unrest, by which time mobs had stoned the Palacio Quemado, set the Vice President's Office and the Ministry of Finance on fire, and attacked other public and municipal buildings. The official death toll was listed at thirty-one deaths and 268 injured, with the Organization of American States attributing all responsibility for the social upheaval to the National Police. A total of nineteen people were charged for the deaths caused, and the trial against them was installed in 2008. However, the legal process has since stalled; as of 2025, the trial has not yet been initiated.
Background.
Starting in 1998, the Bolivian economy—characterized by a period of slow growth since 1986—entered into a slowdown phase induced by external troubles: a deterioration in terms of trade and the reversal in capital flows. By the end of 2002, Bolivia, entering its fifth year of recession, faced a dire financial crisis: unemployment lay at 7.7%, GDP growth that year measured just 2.5%—well below the projected 8%—and external debt had reached 54.2% of GDP. Most urgently, the country's fiscal deficit had skyrocketed from 3.3% of national income in 1997 to 8.7% in 2002. The latter factor prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to demand that the Bolivian government cut its deficit to 5.5% of GDP. Such an undertaking necessitated a cut of US$250 million, 8% of the national budget. Failure to comply would have led the IMF to withdraw a long-term lending agreement. Without such an agreement, the Bolivian government faced the loss of not only Fund loans but also millions of dollars in foreign aid from Denmark, Germany, and Sweden.
Following the events of February, the IMF stood its ground on the claim that the Bolivian government had fully agreed with the 5.5% target. However, Carlos Mesa—the then-vice president—stated that the government had told IMF officials that the budget cuts required to meet their goal were too drastic. Nonetheless, according to National Budget Director Edwin Aldunate, the IMF stood firm on the stated 5.5%, rejecting Bolivia's counteroffer to aim for 6.5%, despite being warned of the "serious social problems" the policies required to reach the organization's target could cause.
In order to meet the IMF's demands, the government first set its sights on foreign oil producers, developing a taxation plan that would have generated up to US$160 million per year. However, this proposal was quickly shelved by President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, who feared that it would harm the country's ability to project a stable image to foreign investors. Instead, the president and his advisers agreed on a second proposal, a progressive income tax targeting the wealthiest 4% of the population, generating US$20 million per year. Given the relatively low amount of revenue this would generate, it was agreed to expand the tax to all individuals earning twice the national minimum wage. In a speech delivered to the nation on the evening of 9 February 2003, President Sánchez de Lozada presented to Congress his fiscal austerity proposal within the framework of the 2003 General Budget of the Nation. With a focus on bolstering the economy and creating new jobs, the legislation projected a 25% increase in public investment—totaling some US$1 billion—a 2.45% increase in the minimum wage from Bs430 to Bs440.5—just over US$58—and a 0.5% reduction in consumption and transaction taxes. Further, the project proposed a 10% reduction in the bureaucratic expenses of the State: the central government, legislature, and judiciary. By doing this, Sánchez de Lozada hoped to release Bs280 million back into the economy. The controversy arose in the plan's imposition of a wage tax beginning with those earning more than Bs880 (US$116) per month and increasing incrementally until it reached 12.5%. As reported by "Los Tiempos", the measure would have affected the wages of 500,000 workers, amounting to 5% of the population and around 25% of the salaried population. For those in the lowest income bracket, such as nurses, police, and teachers, the tax hike equated to two additional dollars per month or enough to buy food for three days.
Black February.
General strikes.
The president's tax announcement was near-unanimously repudiated by the general public, with businessmen, opposition political parties, and trade unions all threatening to mobilize in protest of the "impuestazo". Deputy Evo Morales—leader of the opposition and head of the "cocalero" trade unions—decried Sánchez de Lozada's tax proposal as an attempt to "unload the economic crisis on the backs of the people". The People's General Staff—a consortium of social organizations opposed to the government of which Morales held membership—announced mobilizations in Cochabamba against the tax. As did the Bolivian Workers' Center (COB), which broke off social security negotiations it was carrying out with the government, declaring a twenty-four-hour general strike. For its part, the Unified Syndical Confederation of Rural Workers of Bolivia (CSUTCB) proposed an open "revolt" against the government in coordination with other trade union organizations. Business interests also opposed the bill, deeming it harmful to the economy by reducing consumption, increasing unemployment, and promoting the informal economy, which evades tax payments. In an emergency meeting, the Confederation of Private Entrepreneurs of Bolivia (CEPB) requested an urgent meeting with Sánchez de Lozada to negotiate a reversal of the president's tax project. Sánchez de Lozada stood firm on his stance, justifying that any other budget plan would be infeasible without "endangering the stability of our economy... If a budget like this is not approved, [Bolivia] will go into economic collapse".
The announced tax was also a topic of discussion among the rank and file officers of the National Police Corps (PN), as their Bs880 monthly salaries stood to be directly affected. The majority Aymara police force, characterized by a respect for community decision-making where resolutions are final, resolved to oppose the government's tax reform bill. At the center of these discussions was the Special Security Group (GES) under the command of Major David Vargas. Vargas had a history of aiding and abetting acts considered "seditious" by the government, having previously participated in the so-called Cochabamba Water War just under three years prior, though he never faced legal repercussions. The GES demanded a 40% increase in police wages. Additionally, they sought a modification to the tax bill so that it would only apply to the most affluent sectors of society, those earning the equivalent of $660 per month. If their demands were met, the officers pledged to cease protesting. Although Minister of Government Alberto Gasser had publicly stated that the tax bill was "non-negotiable", he did nonetheless meet with Police High Command the following day.
Police mutiny.
Gasser arrived at GES headquarters at 6 a.m. on the morning of 12 February, where he told Vargas and other senior officers that the tax could not be withdrawn due to the government's commitment to the IMF. By that point, uniformed and plainclothes police officers from various units had begun to congregate around the headquarters, located half a block from the Plaza Murillo, where the Palacio Quemado—the presidential palace—and other government institutions were located. Throughout the morning, police in and around the capital abandoned their posts, gathering near the Plaza Murillo and GES headquarters armed with weapons and riot control equipment. They were joined by cadets bused in from the National Police Academy as well as firefighters and a small amount of retirees. Some officers positioned themselves on the roof of the GES and from there made their way to the adjacent Foreign Ministry building.
At 10 a.m., about 100 police officers began marching through the plaza itself, shouting their demands at the windows of the Palacio Quemado, where President Sánchez de Lozada, Vice President Mesa, and the cabinet had convened an emergency meeting the hour prior. After a brief discussion between the president and his ministers, it was resolved not to give in to the PN's demands but to instead attempt to negotiate with Vargas and his mutineers. Sánchez de Lozada delegated this difficult task to his presidency, government, and defense ministers: Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, Alberto Gasser, and Freddy Teodovich, respectively. Shortly after 10:30 a.m., the president got into contact with US Treasury Secretary John W. Snow to request US$120 million in aid in order to add some flexibility to possible amendments to the tax bill. Snow offered US$15 million, an amount Sánchez de Lozada found insulting and unacceptable. Exasperated, the president responded, in perfect English, that with that he "couldn't even afford to pay for the cigars he smoked" and hung up. Shortly thereafter, the palace chief of security instructed everyone to move to the third floor. As recounted by Mesa, the conversation shifted focus to macroeconomics "in an unspoken intention to separate from the dramatic reality".
Student protests.
Outside the Palacio Quemado, the situation was rapidly deteriorating. Between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., students from the abandoned their campus to join the protests in the plaza but were repelled on the corner of Ayacucho and Comercio streets by crowd control units from the Police Academy, who used tear gas to disperse them. However, they later reconvened, making their way towards the Palacio Quemado and forcing the policemen to retreat to the Legislative Palace. A small contingent of soldiers attempted to disperse the students but was fired on with tear gas by PN officers. Lacking gas masks, the soldiers withdrew into the palace, leaving the building's exterior unguarded. Given the lack of security, the students began stoning the palace's façade, shattering windows on the ground floor and up to the second floor. In an attempt to protect the building, palace guards fired tear gas at the students. According to Vargas, the tear gas, which reached police headquarters, was taken as an act of provocation, causing the police to fire back. By this point, an army contingent about a thousand strong moved in to occupy the plaza, commencing a standoff between soldiers and police.
Eruption of hostilities.
Army units continued to take up positions in and around the Plaza Murillo and Palacio Quemado, maintaining formation in the face of a growing crowd of protesting police and civilians, who levied shouts, obscenities, and tear gas. Elsewhere, the military occupied the corner of Comercio and Socabaya streets and began advancing north along Bolívar Street towards Ballivián Street, where another group of protesters had gathered. Police responded by lobbing tear gas, causing the army to retreat south and take up defensive positions around the Legislative Palace. At one point, a 17-year-old PN firefighter, Julián Huáscar Sánchez, was shot in or near the eye by a rubber bullet. Despite surviving the initial shot, he later died from his injuries, becoming one of the first casualties of the deadly events that soon unfolded. Major Vargas subsequently reported to local media that the PN would be executing "Plan Red", warning citizens to stay in their homes. Privately, however, he resumed dialogue with Brigadier General Hugo Tellería and Defense Minister Freddy Teodovich in a meeting mediated by Sacha Llorenti of the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights of Bolivia (APDHB). A short ceasefire was reached in order to facilitate further negotiations. The military agreed to withdraw its forces from the plaza center, and in exchange, the police would halt their demonstrations.
At some point during the military withdrawal, around 2 p.m., the situation escalated, and live ammunition was exchanged between the military and national police. Which side shot first is unclear, with police claiming it was the military. The official report of events lays blame on the police, stating that a contingent of officers arrived on Comercio Street brandishing weapons as they exited their vehicles. As the soldiers retreated to Ayacucho Street, they fired tear gas behind them, at which point a fire-fight