Bolivia's Deputy Communications Minister Gabriela Alcón announced Friday that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva would be arriving in Santa Cruz de la Sierra next Monday for meetings with local authorities and businessmen. It will be the first visit of a foreign head of state since Bolivia's full Southern Common Market membership President Luis Arce Catacora signed into law this week.
Bolivia's Senate passed late Wednesday the landlocked country's full Southern Common Market (Mercosur) membership which is thus up for President Luis Arce Catacora to be signed into law. The Lower House approved the initiative on June 14, which would give the head of state to participate in the July 8 Summit in Asunción from a new perspective.
Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora thanked his fellow countrymen and the international community for their support Wednesday during the military uprising that was eventually quashed with the arrest of General Juan José Zúñiga and the other rebel leaders and officers.
Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora held a meeting with his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin on the sides of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) during which both leaders agreed on joint undertakings in the South American country regarding lithium battery production in addition to discussing other bilateral topics of interest.
Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora will be traveling to Russia next week for an encounter with Vladimir Putin, it was confirmed in La Paz Wednesday. Putin and Arce last held a telephone conversation on May 13 to advance bilateral cooperation issues. As war preparedness rises globally, Bolivia's role as that of a country hosting Iranian troops and guns cannot be ignored.
Former President Evo Morales has been deposed as leader of Bolivia's Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) after a party congress over the weekend chose Grover Garcia to chair the political movement. The winner is aligned with incumbent President Luis Arce Catacora, a former ally of Morales' who has become his deadliest enemy in recent years. García stems from the Single Confederation of Bolivian Peasant Workers Union (CSUTCB) and was also mayor of the municipality of Tiraque.
Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora announced that his country's first biodiesel production plant will start operating next week in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Although some experts have doubted the project's worth, the Government said that the new undertaking would generate up to US$ 100 million in savings on fossil fuel imports. Supreme Decree 5135 authorizes the addition of up to 25% of vegetable components to conventional fuels.