Government Leaves the Country in Crisis with a Dollar “Corralito” | Gobierno deja en crisis al país con corralito en dólares

By El Diario:

Economic Analysts

  • The fall in natural gas exports, coupled with the loss of the Argentine market, reduced foreign currency inflows to the national market, causing shortages, while BCB measures created a parallel market.
Economic analysts foresee a complicated scenario for the country under the next government.

The current administration is leaving behind a dollar “corralito (withdrawal restrictions),” and the new administration taking office in November will have to reverse this situation, said Fernando Romero, president of the Departmental College of Economists of Tarija, in his assessment of the drop in the parallel market dollar rate.

Meanwhile, economic analyst Darío Monasterio stated that the “corralito” implemented by financial institutions is not their responsibility but rather the result of misguided government policies.

The dollar “corralito” has driven up the currency’s price in the parallel market, which a few months ago climbed to 20 bolivianos. Yesterday, the rate dropped to nearly 12 bolivianos.

Regarding this decline, Romero noted that Bolivia’s dollar market is highly speculative and volatile, but something happened that caused the value to fall. One cause could be a relative increase in dollar supply, with inflows both formal and informal—exports, remittances, and contraband.

On the other hand, Monasterio explained that when preparing the 2025 budget in October and November of last year, inconsistencies and fantasies were already evident. The budget was approved by the president, not by the Legislative Assembly.

For economic analyst Joshua Bellott, the country’s situation is worse than it appears, with the national economy facing high inflation, a shortage of foreign currency and fuel, and a devaluation of the boliviano.

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