increase the minimum wage and remove the fuel subsidy

The President of Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz, declared this Wednesday a “economic and social emergency” in the face of the crisis the country is going through, with measures such as removal of fuel subsidies And increases in the national minimum wage and certain social bonuses to protect “those who need it most”.

In a televised message, Paz announced that a decree had been issued, which he called “historic decision to save the homeland” this will allow “to act quickly, coordinate the State and take firm measures to stabilize the economy, protect Bolivian families and increase production”.

“We assume that the government of a country deeply wounded in its economy, in its reserves, without dollars, with a rising inflation, no fuel and with a State emptied from within. Bolivia is sick, they devastated it like in war. They left us alone, they plundered us as a country,” the president said.

“The worst crisis in history”

Paz, who was sworn in on November 8, said he received a country with “the worst economic, financial, social and environmental crisis” of its history, with a “gigantic deficit, exhausted international reserves”, Public companies “looted and a state transformed into loot by bandits” who governed for themselves and not for the Bolivian people.

The president stressed that “the economic, financial, energy and social emergency was declared because Bolivia could not continue to operate with the standards of the last 20 years”, of the governments of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS), of Evo Morales (2006-2019) and Luis Arcé (2020-2025).

“We made a central decision: to protect the pockets of the people and ensure energy and fuel security, with clear prices and guaranteed supply,” Paz said, stressing the importance of “honest” hydrocarbon prices.

In Bolivia, the liter of diesel and gasoline It is sold at a subsidized price of approximately 0.53 dollars, which has remained stable for more than 20 years and which represents an annual cost to the State of more than 2,000 million dollars.

The decree announced by Paz includes price increases for gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and diesel, and keeps the price of a bottle of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at just 22.50 bolivianos ($3.23).

Special gasoline will cost 6.96 bolivianos per liter, the equivalent of one dollar; premium gasoline will be 11 bolivianos ($1.58); per liter of diesel at 9.80 bolivianos ($1.40); aviation gasoline at 10.57 bolivianos ($1.51) and jet fuel at 10.74 bolivianos ($1.54), which will be in effect for six months.

Paz also announced an “extraordinary regime of repatriation of capital with 0% taxes“, in order to recover liquidity and also declared that exports would be liberalized and that diesel would be removed from the list of controlled substances to facilitate its importation, among other measures

Furthermore, his government has ordered that from January 2, the The national minimum wage will increase by 20%, from 2,750 to 3,300 bolivianos ($395 to $474) and that the amount will be reviewed at the end of next year based on “real inflation data” and through dialogue with workers and private entrepreneurs.

The president affirmed that the decree “also has a firm social heart”, since it provides for increases in Dignity of income for the elderly, from the current 300 bolivianos to 500 bolivianos (from 43 to almost 72 dollars) and the Juancito Pinto Bonus, an annual incentive to prevent school dropout, of 200 to 300 bolivianos (from 28.7 to 43 dollars).

Paz justified this “This is not about social assistance, but about helping families who have been destroyed after the looting of the last 20 years.”

After the presidential message, long queues formed in front of gas stations and certain social sectors threatened to mobilize against the withdrawal of the subsidy.

On Monday, the Executive presented a commission that will investigate alleged corruption in the hydrocarbon sector under the Morales and Arce governments, and also denounced an alleged economic damage of $2.595 million due to “unviable” public companies and industrial facilities promoted in both administrations.