SUPPORTERS of former president Evo Morales have clashed with police in the Bolivian capital La Paz as they called on incumbent leader Rodrigo Paz to resign.

Joining a nationwide protest movement fuelled by the worst economic crisis in a generation, thousands of Mr Morales’s followers converged on the plaza outside the government headquarters on Monday.

Bolivia remains paralysed by road blockades that have strangled cities and triggered food and fuel shortages in the last two weeks.

The unrest presents Mr Paz, a rightwinger who came to power six months ago, with this biggest challenge to date.

Security forces pushed back protesters who tried to break police ranks, firing tear-gas canisters before the demonstrators could reach congress or the presidential palace. 

Dynamite blasts rumbled, forcing staff and legislators to evacuate.

“Homeland or death, we will win!” demonstrators chanted, ripping shop doors off their hinges and setting fire to looted sofas used as barricades.

The public prosecutor announced 90 arrests.

“They can march if it’s peaceful, but we will take action if they commit crimes,” said Deputy Interior Minister Hernan Paredes.

Over the past 16 days, the unrest has stranded around 5,000 lorries on motorways, leaving supermarket shelves empty and hospitals without some medical supplies.