Bolivia’s Congress approves $1.9bn IMF loan amid protest threats
Unions warn that fuel subsidy cuts in the IMF deal could trigger renewed protests and rising costs.
Bolivia’s Congress has approved a $1.9bn International Monetary Fund loan in a major victory for President Rodrigo Paz, though trade unions warn the deal’s austerity conditions could spark renewed unrest, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Paz’s Christian Democratic Party does not hold a majority. But centrist and right-wing parties, which now dominate Congress after the long-ruling leftist MAS party was reduced to just two seats in the 130-seat lower house and none in the Senate, rallied behind the programme on Friday.
“We are finalising crucial agreements for Bolivia,” Paz said, warning that difficult decisions lie ahead as the Iran war pushes up global fuel costs.
To keep fuel affordable for ordinary Bolivians, the government spent heavily to hold petrol and diesel cheaper than even in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest crude producers, a subsidy that has since drained foreign reserves and fed a black market in smuggled fuel.