US EditionBolivia’s largest cities brought to standstill by transportation strike over fuel price hike
Fuel prices rose by up to 163% after subsidy removal to improve public finances; social protections and a 20% wage increase aim to ease the impact, officials said.
- On Friday, public transportation workers struck, bringing the streets of La Paz, Bolivia and Santa Cruz, Bolivia to a standstill with transit shutdowns and blockades.
- The government ordered a 100% fuel price increase, and the office said subsidy cuts would save $3 billion; President Paz's package includes a 20% wage increase and preserved social bonuses, backed by business leaders and the U.S. government.
- Protesters in La Paz blocked street corners while transport services shut down and residents and marchers formed long lines, intensifying disruption across multiple cities on Friday.
- Officials and union leaders signalled a risk of escalation as Edson Valdez, transportation union leader, warned protests could spread nationwide while fuel shortages pushed food prices higher and fares doubled for commuters.
- Economic outreach included meetings with U.S. investors and a CAF loan approval as a delegation of U.S. business leaders met Paz and the Legislative Assembly approved a $550 million loan.
63 Articles
63 Articles
The President of Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz, promulgated Wednesday night a decree with more than 120 articles that eliminates the subsidy to gasoline and diesel that the government assumed for 20 years. Paz has characterized the document as a “historical economic saving for the homeland” and has justified it as an urgent decision to reduce the fiscal deficit and reduce the economic deterioration that led to a double-digit inflation.
The new government of Bolivia in charge of Rodrigo Paz declared an economic emergency and issued a series of radical measures, including the elimination of fuel subsidies and the easing of the exchange rate regime.The measure caused an 86 percent increase in the price of gasoline and more than 160 percent in that of diesel, the sharpest price adjustments of energy in the recent history of the country.The reforms announced by President Rodrigo Pa…
Associated Press News
LA PEACE, Bolivia (AP) — Hours after Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz eliminated the fuel subsidy and decreed an increase in the price of gasoline by more than double, there was little public transport in La Paz and other cities, and unrest among people and trade unions grew.
Bolivia’s Economic Emergency Sparks A Fuel Shock And Currency Shift
Key Points An economic emergency decree ended fuel subsidies, lifting gasoline about 86% and diesel about 163% overnight. The government ordered a transition to a “new exchange-rate regime,” putting the fixed official rate in doubt. Wage and benefit increases aim to cushion households as officials promise stronger investor protections. President Rodrigo Paz declared an economic […]
The new government of Bolivia announced on Wednesday the end of fuel subsidies, a policy that kept the prices of gasoline and diesel frozen for almost 20 years under the left-wing administrations that preceded the current management. Read more]]>
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