Bolivia: Requires US$6 billion to confront the crisis | Requiere $us 6.000 millones para encarar crisis

By El Diario:

According to Jubileo Foundation analyst

  • The annual amount must be allocated to:
    • fuel imports,
    • debt service,
    • the return of foreign currency to the financial system,
    • as well as to exchange-rate policy — whether through bands or through the bolsín, said economist René Martínez.
The population has been severely affected by the crisis the country is going through, which has triggered mobilizations in different regions.

Given the grave crisis Bolivia faces, estimates from Jubileo Foundation economic analyst René Martínez indicate that at least 6 billion dollars per year are required for fuel imports, debt payments, the return of foreign currency to the financial system, as well as to undertake an exchange-rate policy — whether through bands or through the bolsín.

Martínez pointed out that the current administration is leaving a major problem for the next government, which will have very little room for maneuver and not much time, and will therefore have to make short- and long-term decisions.

For his part, economic analyst Gonzalo Chávez has repeatedly stated on his social-media platforms that the crisis stems from the drop in gas revenues, which once reached 6 billion dollars and have now fallen to less than 2 billion.

Raúl Velásquez, hydrocarbons-sector analyst at the Milenio Foundation, explained that in 2010 subsidies were suspended and diesel and gasoline prices were adjusted because fuel imports were already rising — but that this was reversed due to social unrest.

He recalled that production began to decline 10 years ago, and that it is therefore now necessary to establish spaces for dialogue with different actors linked to fuels in order to propose measures for the short and long term.

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