Around 500 soldiers marched in Bolivia’s capital La Paz on Wednesday to demand just promotion in the armed forces — despite a government threat to fire them.

It was the second protest in as many days.

Defence Minister Ruben Saavedra said that armed forces officials would not meet the protesters because there were “regular channels for demands to be met and those who violate the rules must bear the consequences.”

He added that military leaders were evaluating whether to punish the soldiers and claimed that that only 8 per cent of the country’s 9,666 enlisted men and sergeants were taking part in the protest.

Minutes after he spoke, the soldiers paraded in uniform through the governmental capital La Paz to the Air Force Command headquarters, where they shouted: “Evo soldier, listen to your people” — a reference to President Evo Morales.

Some of the protesting soldiers’ wives yelled: “We want to decolonise the armed forces.

“Enough of classes and discrimination, the generals are dictators.”

The protesters claim that the military discriminates against indigenous Bolivians.

But Mr Saavedra denied that discrimination existed in the armed forces, saying that the institution had changed.

Enlisted men are demanding changes so that non-commissioned officers in Bolivia’s military may study to become career officers.

They are also demanding the release of four protest leaders who were fired on Monday and say they want medical benefits on a par with officers.

The latest march followed a similar demonstration on Tuesday, when a similar number of protesting soldiers jogged through the streets of La Paz.