The main thrust of the first month of Rodrigo Paz’s government in Bolivia was to focus on denouncing and investigating alleged corruption in the former administration of the Movement for Socialism (MAS). There is time to take urgent economic measures in the face of the serious monetary crisis, such as canceling some taxes and announcing the 2026 budget with a significant reduction in public spending. But for Paz, the roots of the problem go back to the past 20 years: at least ten real commissions have announced that they will begin intervening in public companies. The president justified this by saying that “the potential theft figure exceeds 15 thousand million dollars.”
The goal of these bodies is to review several state institutions and bring those responsible for mishandling of funds and other crimes to justice. The Head of State emphasized: “The education of the people is the cloak that we leave to the people, their conscience, which drives away the guilty.” The only committee known to have been formed, which includes parliamentarians, members of the judiciary, and the Minister of Hydrocarbons, is dedicated to investigating the management and production of hydrocarbons. It seems even more important, as the radical decline in fuel exports – up to 66% lower than in 2014 – was one of the reasons for the dollar shortage and the resulting inflation.
However, the first results came from research conducted by the Food Production Support Company (EMAPA). Former director and former deputy of MAS, Franklin Flores, is suspected of involvement in a corruption network that delivered subsidized hay to bakery union leaders, supposedly reselling it brand new at three times its price. Leader Rubén Ríos was sent to San Pedro de La Paz prison on a preventive July afternoon, charged with illicit enrichment. Meanwhile, Flores, charged with three other charges, finds himself on the run.
The economic damage to the country has been estimated by EMAPA at $13.9 million and there is an open discussion about continuing support across the board. The president says he is surprised that “all that is subsidies in Bolivia is corruption”: “Let us fight until the price is right, but I do not think I will keep the corrupt and thieves who left the subsidies without negotiation.” Uncertainty over economic support has caused delays in input deliveries and some cities reported no food for several days.
Another commission that has shown progress is the one investigating the disappearance of the Fondo de Desarrollo para los Pueblos Indígenas (Fondioc), a foundation that ceased operations in 2015 because its president, Nemesia Achacollo, was guilty of failing to implement about $10 million allocated to productive projects in this area. The case was recently reopened to include exdiputada masista Lidia Patty, who was seized this ad. The Public Prosecution accuses her of breaching the contract by receiving $100,000 from the state between 2009 and 2010 due to failed agricultural initiatives.
All points were pointing to the fact that the next person to fall would be the former head of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), Armin Durgaten, accused of smuggling and irregularly exporting fuel. Fiscalía issued a confiscation order. However, despite activated immigration alerts, photos were published confirming his trip to Brazil. Among other state institutions and companies launched in recent days is the National Institute for Agrarian Reform (INRA), whose employees are being investigated for illegal land trafficking.
Those who remained on the list, and whose future intervention Paz announced, were Administradora Boliviana de Carreteras; Bolivian lithium deposits. Bolivian aviation; National Electricity Company; National Telecommunications Company; and Autoridad Jurisdiccional Administrativa Minera (AJAM), to name a few. “The truth commission is a commission from Bolivian society to find out what happened to us. Why were we stolen 60 thousand million dollars? I say that in a metaphorical sense because that’s what the gas is telling us. This is four times what we have collected since the founding of the country in 1825. Where does it come from? Was that silver?”
Paz constantly repeats that this is not political persecution, but an investigation into the “Bolivian Families Robot”: “There are economic damages to the state and all cases must be investigated, except for the people, the entities that helped generate this whole situation.” Outside the committees, but in the context of the arrest of figures linked to the movement towards socialism, Rafael Arce, one of the sons of former President Luis Arce, was found, charged and investigated for illicit enrichment. He is suspected to have benefited from a $3.3 million loan when he was 25 years old.