Brazil is granting asylum to a Bolivian opposition senator who has taken refuge in its embassy in La Paz, claiming political persecution and saying he feared for his life.

Protests against a sharp increase in fuel prices have intensified and turned violent in Bolivia, as thousands of demonstrators demanded President Evo Morales’ government repeal the hike.

Bolivian MPs exchanged blows as tempers boiled over in the aisles of Congress.

The International Monetary Fund said yesterday that increasing state intervention in Bolivia’s economy is putting private investment at risk and recommended that leftist President Evo Morales’ government seek “a careful balance” to avoid a crisis.