MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian President admits inability to cope with imported fuel demand

“We no longer have the capacity to be able to fully respond to the demand for that amount of fuel,” Arce reckoned

Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora admitted Friday that his country imported 90% of the fuel it consumed at a cost of around US$ 3 billion annually, a significant adjustment from US$ 1.5 billion in 2019. Given the rise in smuggling and the scarcity of hard foreign currency, the crisis seems to have entered some loop. Reducing public sector vehicle use and prioritizing fuel for essential services may not be enough to meet national fuel demand. “What country is going to put up with this?” he wondered.

“We do not have the amount of dollars we need, because today, we have said it clearly, we have become a fuel importer, I was saying that in 2016 we produced 50% of diesel and imported 50%, now we are importing 90% of fuel,” he added during the celebrations of Radio San Gabriel's 70th anniversary.

“There were times in 2022 or 2023 where we got to import US$ 4 billion, there we realized that something bad was happening,” he reckoned while blaming smuggling and other factors for the increase in spending.

“We went down from US$ 4 billion to US$ 3 billion, that is what we need every year to be able to import,” he also pointed out while recalling his 10 measures to cut down consumption.

“We do not have a problem with the subsidy, the problem is the acquisition, the purchase, the import of fuel that is making it difficult for us due to the lack of foreign currency to be able to buy. This is the problem that the country has been facing for a long time and we have been solving it time and again and the moment comes when we no longer have the capacity to be able to fully respond to the demand for that amount of fuel,” the head of State went on. Arce also ruled out resigning from office and asserted that “we will continue working to provide solutions for our country.”

Meanwhile, Bolivian Vice Minister of Communications Gabriela Alcón insisted that her country would not be lifting the fuel subsidies nor devaluating the boliviano national currency. She also ruled out a “banking pen,” which would keep customers from withdrawing their savings. “No measures” affecting people will be adopted “in addition to the 10 temporary” restrictions regarding fuel usage already announced by Arce, she underlined.

Alcón also said that opposition politicians fueling rumors in those regards were “disloyal to the people” and urged them to “stop lying and harming the Bolivian people.”