According to the World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org); The Global Competitiveness Report 2011 – 2012 ranks Bolivia in place 103 of a total of 142 countries; Bolivia has therefore 102 countries ahead of itself to become the first in terms of Competitiveness.

If we look at this first graph, in terms of the GDP, we are well below Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Although, we have a positive trend since the mid 80’s; we should take advantage of our geographical location; we could export along with our neighbors to the biggest markets to date: USA and Europe.

So what are the most problematic factors for us Bolivians to do business? Our first problem is “Access to financing,” we seem to have problems with land tenure, land titling, basically law enforcement so an entrepreneur can mortgage his land, equipment to grow and prosper, thus more taxes could turn into more basic infrastructure to fight poverty. Our second problem is “Restrictive labor regulations,” it damages our competitiveness regarding our neighbors and/or producers’ competitors. Third would be “Foreign currency regulations,” under this government we are over valuing our currency which damages our export sector; the only viable way to produce more at cheaper prices for our local market is to have an export market available over time. And so forth, the other problems are outlined in the chart below:

So, Bolivia is in position 103 from 108 countries from previous year (2010 – 2011); the following chart provides more information regarding our standing in the global economy.

Opinion in an article today, outlines from the WEF report that the countries who are regarded as belonging to the “Bolivarian’s axis,” Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia (the use of Simon Bolivar’s name as he fought for the independence of these countries and others more, from Spain, in the early 1800’s), in the last years, have experienced “investment constraints,” and private sector may have lost interest in those countries.

http://www.opinion.com.bo/opinion/articulos/2011/0914/noticias.php?id=25311