The continued decline in the Central Bank’s reserves for several months has pushed economic operators to raise their voices to demand measures from the government that would facilitate their commercial operations abroad.
This situation has also caused shortages of certain basic products, including fuel.
The local daily “En Deber” reported this Friday that several union members marched in different cities across the country, including the capital La Paz, in protest, among other things, against the persistent shortage of dollars in Bolivia.
“We tell the central government that the dollar problem must be resolved because it affects the Bolivian people. Transporters and bakers have already threatened us to increase prices, that is why we are marching,” said a union leader quoted by the newspaper.
Unions plan to keep up the pressure next week with more marches planned across the country.
For their part, companies which blame the lack of export promotion and the decline in oil exploitation in the country, fear that they will no longer be able to honor their commitments to foreign suppliers, which seriously affects vital sectors, such as that of the pharmaceutical industry.
This situation gave rise to demonstrations in the streets to demand solutions from the government. Some economic operators claim that to fulfill their duties to their suppliers, they are forced to turn to the black market, where they obtain currencies at high prices.
Last year, Bolivia narrowly avoided a financial crisis by passing a law authorizing the central bank to sell part of its gold reserves to remedy the lack of foreign currency.
According to media sources, the entire amount of gold permitted by law had already been sold, but the Central Bank’s cash reserves were reduced to $166 million.
The official exchange rate on Friday showed 6.91 Bolivians per dollar, while on the black market, the parity rose to 8.5 Bolivians per dollar.
