Due to the fixed exchange rate that they have maintained since 2011, Luis Arce’s government faces an unprecedented social and economic crisis. The lack of dollars conditions all sectors of the economy.
Bolivia is in a time of economic and political turmoil due to the shortage of Dollars, and this week began with massive marches and road blockades in different regions of the country. The official exchange rate remains at 6.96 bolivianos per dollar, but in the parallel market it has reached up to 9 bolivianoswhich represents a depreciation of 24.9% in practice. The last time the exchange rate moved was in 2011.
The lack of access to foreign currency has generated a worrying scenario for key sectors of the Bolivian economywith direct impacts on the supply of imported products, medicines and fuels.
He Ministry of Economy reported that the persistent shortage of dollars is fueled by speculation by various economic actors and political interests, despite the availability of the currency in banks. This situation contributes to generating economic instabilitypolitical and social in the country.
At the end of April, the bank recorded 285 million dollars physically available and another 158 million in investments abroad, while net international reserves reached 1,796 million dollars, according to official sources.
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Bolivia: what are the causes of the lack of dollars
At the end of April, the President Luis Arce recognized the drop in income due to the drop in gas exports: “Today we don’t have the money we had before, the gas has run out (and) we are doing exploration again to see if there is more.”
“The sector that generated foreign currency, which is hydrocarbons, natural gas, has significantly reduced its exports,” said economist and professor at the private Bolivian Private University (UPB), Gonzalo Chávez.
Bolivia It reached a gas sales ceiling of 6,113 million dollars in 2013, to drop to about 2,792 million in 2022, according to official data.
About 80% of the production is sold to Argentina and Brazil, according to the state oil company YPFBwhich anticipated a greater decrease, because Argentina announced that starting next August it will stop buying from Bolivia.
Source: Ambito
