Bolivia’s new president announced on Wednesday that the country will eliminate its fuel subsidies, ending two decades of fixed prices under the previous leftist administrations.
“With the publication of this decree, new prices for hydrocarbons will be announced,” President Rodrigo Paz, a pro-business conservative elected in October, said in a televised address alongside his cabinet ministers.
“Removing poorly designed subsidies from the past does not mean abandonment. It means order, justice, and clear redistribution,” he added.
Bolivia has long centralised gasoline and diesel imports, buying fuel at international prices and reselling it at a loss. The policy has contributed to the nation’s worst economic crisis in 40 years, draining the treasury’s international dollar reserves.
Since 2023, fuel shortages have been frequent, with long lines at service stations lasting hours, and sometimes days.
Under the new policy, diesel will no longer be a government-controlled commodity and will enter the free market to facilitate private-sector imports.
Paz said the move would prevent subsidies from being “abused to hide the looting” and would help stabilise prices while generating additional fiscal resources for the government.
AFP
