Images showing Bolivian paraplegics protesting by suspending themselves in wheelchairs from bridges in the city of Cochabamba have created a stir throughout social media over the past six months.

Pictures were shared of ageing, disabled protesters crawling through the streets wearing only diapers, with slogans demanding increased government benefits scrawled all over their bodies.

The protesters were demanding that they be provided with 500 Bolivianos ($97) per month, less than a third of the minimum wage, and that a framework be implemented in the country that categorises various disabilities in terms of severity and associated benefits.

The demonstrators in Bolivia have now been protesting for nearly six months against what they consider is a deliberate marginalisation against them by the Government.

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However last month, the situation reached breaking point when riot police fired pepper spray and water cannons at a march of disabled protesters who had travelled hundreds of kilometres through the Andes mountains to reach capital city La Paz to demand a response from President Evo Morales.

A three-metre barricade was erected by police, blocking the path of the presidential palace, while shocking images showed disabled protesters being beaten and thrown to the ground.

"We only asked Evo Morales to dignify people with disabilities and this is what he does ... hit us, mistreat us," a female protester said.

The Government has claimed that they lack resources for disabled people who cannot contribute to the economy, while others have suggested the protesters are trying to destabilise Bolivia and portray the government negatively.

"We can't increase the benefits for people who are not productive for the country who don't work," parliament member Edgar Romero said.

"We believe the disabled are acting with unreasonable and unjustifiable inflexibility, the state can't give a lot of money to people who don't work or do anything."

Although some politicians have condemned the Government's unwillingness to address the protesters demands, the struggle for disability rights and benefits in Bolivia is not new, and activists say the opponents in the Government are simply marginalising those with disabilities because they are powerless.

Police formed a three-metre barricade to block protestors trying to reach the President's palace. ( United Notions Film )

In 2012, a series of similar disability protests also resulted in violent clashes with security forces, which eventually led to a concession from the Government: those with extremely severe disabilities would be granted 1000 Bolivianos ($194) per year in benefits.

But many protesters have since said that they felt they were mislead, as the deal denied the majority of Bolivians living with "non-severe" disabilities protesters access to benefit

Currently about 50,000 people have registered as being disabled in Bolivia, but rights groups have said the number was far higher in the hundreds of thousands, as only those with extremely severe disabilities were officially recognised.

"Down syndrome is currently not recognised as being a disability worthy of receiving benefits," United Notions documentary maker Violeta Ayala told the ABC from La Paz.

Meanwhile, those who can claim benefits say 1000 Bolivianos per year (about $16 per month) is not only insufficient to cover basic necessities — such as food and nappies, which is why many protesters have been symbolically wearing nappies — but is barely enough to cover the cost of renewing their disability cards each year.

"It's the same issues that have been going on for years, it's been latent but brewing for a long time, it's just that it's kicked off again recently," United Notions co-founder Dan Fallshaw, who is documenting the protests, told the ABC.

The protesters maintain that their demands are minimal, but the Government has publicly responded through state media channels that sufficient benefits are already in place, creating a divide in opinion amongst Bolivians.

A protester attaches himself to a crucifix in the middle of the road in Bolivia. ( United Notions Film )

Passersby have been reported to curse at the disabled protesters for disrupting the country, while police and government officials have if the Government caved in to their demands, the situation would snowball into further demands.

The Government has emphasised there were already laws in place that guaranteed free housing, education and hospital services for disabled citizens, but protesters say that this does not manifest in practice, and exists only on paper.

"In practice it couldn't be further from the truth," Mr Fallshaw said.

"I've seen people going to hospitals, and nothing is free ... medicine is not free ... and doctors tell disabled people to stay outside and to not come into the hospital waiting rooms. They're really considered the bottom of the heap."

Feliza Ali, a spokesperson for the protesters and a leader of many of the movements, said their demands were minimal, and that the Government was marginalising disabled people simply because they can.

"This benefit will reduce the inequality gap and help us make decisions for ourselves," Ms Ali said.

"If I have the 500 Bolivianos, when I travel by bus, rather that crawl along the floor like an animal to reach my seat, I can pay someone to help me get onto the bus with dignity."

"This isn't a self-righteous demand, it's the beginning of self determination. The time has come to stop the segregation and apartheid that we've been living for generations."

A demonstrator with a physical disability stands in front a riot police barricade. ( Reuters: David Mercado )

The Bolivian Government was not available to comment on the latest developments.

Protesters have said they planned to continue their sit-in at Plaza Murillo in central La Paz indefinitely until their demands are met or dialogue with the Government is ensured.

"In Australia, a disabled person can not only collect benefits, they can become a famous athlete or be a leading academic, they are welcomed citizens of the community," documentary maker Violeta Ayala told the ABC.

"In Bolivia, they are not, and I don't believe that this is a local issue, but a universal issue of human rights."