Fuel crisis worsens and affects more sectors of the economyEconomy | Se agudiza crisis por combustibles y afecta a más sectores de la economía

By Los Tiempos:

Drivers wait in line for several hours to get fuel, yesterday. | C.L.

The fuel shortage is worsening the country’s transportation crisis, driving up prices—especially for food—and impacting various sectors of the economy. Meanwhile, President Luis Arce said yesterday that he cannot guarantee fuel supply.

Heavy cargo transport, passenger services, restaurants, merchants, poultry producers, and other sectors denounce that the fuel shortage crisis threatens the continuity of their businesses.

When asked yesterday about fuel supply, Arce responded: “That doesn’t depend on us because we requested several loans in a timely manner that were never approved; you were witnesses to the commitments made by the political parties, all of them promised to approve a loan which they later rejected themselves, that’s the situation we’re in, therefore, we can’t guarantee anything,” said the president, according to a Red Uno report.

The question to the president was posed by the press during the celebrations for the anniversary of the department of La Paz.

Meanwhile, transport workers and citizens continue to wait in long lines to get fuel and carry out their work.

Transport drivers across the country wait in line for several days to obtain diesel and complain that they cannot work normally because they must spend time securing fuel.

In Santa Cruz, drivers report waiting from six hours to several days to get gasoline at gas stations in Montero, Santa Cruz.

Those affected said they visited several gas stations; however, only one had gasoline, which led to a long waiting line. At the other stations, cones were placed to alert people that there was no fuel, according to media reports.

In Tarija, producers complain that long lines for diesel and gasoline have returned, a situation that has raised concern among the poultry sector of that department, which warns that if supply is not restored, there will be problems with the availability of chicken and eggs in the region.

Cochabamba is facing a similar situation due to the lack of diesel and gasoline, and several sectors, such as the restaurant industry, have reported rising input costs that threaten the continuity of their operations.

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