It's not so much about the car, but mainly the price of everything going up when fuel prices go up. Around 70% of our rural population is poor (90$ per month or less) or extremely poor (50$ or less), so bus prices going up by 5ct and 1lb of rice going up by 5ct at the same time can bring them to having to choose between sending their kids to school or buying food.

I haven't found 1 reliable source of protesters getting paid, only a lot of staged videos or misinterpretations (e.g. the guy handing out masks on the Pana, supposedly handing out money) - but I do know 2 cops who where working undercover within the protesters. They, of course, got paid by the government to do so. Those two were not asked to instigate anything themselves, but rumor has it other cops did have that order. Which is a very common tactic all over the world, sending infiltrators who throw the first rock, so the police has an excuse to go in with force. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen just by itself and from the protesters themselves, but that part should not be forgotten.

If the protesters get paid, there would be a lot more going there. We had many people staying at home this time, or going to work regularly, if they were able to. Most of the times, the communities organize themselves to cook and bring food to the barricades, sometimes even cooking there. It's a loss for them (the communities), not a profit. The government did a great job spinning things nicely in the media, but it doesn't have much to do with the reality, as far as I know.

About other interests in play, that could very well be. There could be masked donations coming in and things like that, and I wouldn't be too surprised if there were some extra "donations" going towards some of the leaders. But for me, more than anything, this was about information and manipulating public opinion.