(Bloomberg) — Bolivia’s security forces began clearing road blockades after President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency following 50 days of unrest that have severely disrupted the economy.

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Some 35 blockades remained as of Saturday afternoon, down from the more than 100 in previous weeks and over 40 on Friday.

Police and military officers have encountered no resistance from protesters so far, according to local media reports, but they have yet to reach the most entrenched demonstrators in the rural Chapare region loyal to former President Evo Morales.

“I have ordered the imposition of a state of emergency to free the roads,” Paz said in a post on X. “Bolivians cannot continue to be held hostage by roadblocks that prevent them from working, studying, receiving medical care, obtaining supplies and providing for their families.”

Hours earlier, the government in La Paz signed an agreement with the national labor group COB aimed at ending the blockades, which have led to food and medicine shortages across the country. Other groups continued their protests, among them the La Paz farmers federation Tupac Katari and supporters of Morales.

The coca growers’ federation in the Chapare region, which the former president leads, said its members won’t back down and are prepared to confront security forces.

Paz, in a speech after announcing the state of emergency, said those who continue to maintain blockades still have time to lift them and begin talks with the government. Groups that refuse will face legal consequences, he added.

The president also accused an organization based in Chapare of funding the blockades with illicit resources. “What Bolivia is facing today is no longer a social protest or a demonstration demanding rights,” Paz said. “It is an attempted coup d’état orchestrated by narco-terrorists.”

Congress is expected to debate Paz’s state of emergency decree later Saturday, and decide whether to approve or reject it. It went into immediate effect, allowing the government to begin clearing blockades, and will last for 90 days with the possibility of extension.

Economic losses from the protests have reached $3 billion, the National Chamber of Industries said Friday. That’s equivalent to about 6% of Bolivia’s annual output.

Last week, Paz signed a law that eases the state’s ability to impose emergency measures to crack down on unrest. His administration also said that it’s nearing a $3 billion financing program with the International Monetary Fund.

“This state of emergency is not intended to take away normality, but to restore it,” Paz said. “The government’s doors will remain open to those who wish to engage in dialog in good faith.”

Paz, 58, an ally of US President Donald Trump, rose to power last year by captivating working-class Bolivians and many supporters of the long-ruling Movimiento al Socialismo party, pledging “capitalism for everyone” during his campaign. Since his election in October, ending two decades of socialist rule, he has scaled back fuel subsidies, moved to liberalize the foreign exchange market and helped tap global capital markets.

While bond investors welcomed his free-market policies, relief has failed to materialize for many farmers, miners and Indigenous groups, especially after the Iran war pushed up inflation.

The US government is providing Bolivia with emergency food assistance and logistics operations support to help people facing shortages of food and medicine caused by the blockades. And this week, the Trump administration committed $20 million to fight drug trafficking and organized crime in the Andean nation.

(Recasts with blockades being cleared and coca growers saying they’re prepared to confront security forces.)

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