July 9, 2023, 4:00 AM
July 9, 2023, 4:00 AM
On Friday he had asked the peasants of the Tupac Katari Federation of La Paz “to form a body to demand” the approval of the credits that are pending in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, some $327 million. President Luis Arce yesterday took that same request to the inhabitants of northern La Paz, where he traveled to deliver works in the context of the anniversary of that region.
The president’s demand follows the rejection, by the Legislative Assembly, of a loan granted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). for $52 million. In addition, in that legislative body another loan for $us 150 million (IDB) and 12 million euros from the Italian company Cassa Depositio Prestiti SPA was suspended. The Minister of Economy, Marcelo Montenegro, informed that until July 7, credits for more than $327 million were pending approval in the Legislative Assembly “for programs and projects for the benefit of the population”.
“The money is not for me or for our jilata (Vice President David Choquehuanca), the money is to benefit the Bolivian people who require these works, sewerage, educational units and all the works they demand. The money is for the people,” he said. President Arce yesterday in the town of Palos Blancos, in the north of La Paz, where he delivered three new educational units.
“Maybe we need you to be able to approve, because they are credits that we have and that are in the Legislative Assembly, many credits they are there they don’t come out”, he insisted.
But already on Friday, after learning of the legislative rejection, Luis Arce also urged the peasants of La Paz to mobilize to put pressure on the Legislative Assembly. “I ask our centrals, our Tupac Katari (Federation of Peasants), our mayors, everyone, and the social organizations to form a body to require that Our assembly members, once and for all, approve these norms”he sued.
The position of the head of state was evaluated as “a new sign of the economic crisis” that the country is facing and that is manifested in the shortage of dollars, but also by the struggle for power and the division of the MAS. “The country has to show that it has leadership and governability; the economy is accompanied by political solutions,” said economist Henry Oporto, who is part of the Milenio Foundation.
“Right now, the country is already in need of a massive injection of dollars and this would strengthen international reserves with sufficient foreign currency. to cover import needs and economic activity in generalsaid Porto. He warned that for this to happen there must be a plan of “stability and growth” that can be valued by the IMF, for example.
The Government has refused to adhere to this type of program because the international organization has repeatedly recommended reducing subsidies and public spending. Of course, the Minister of Economy defended the relevance of the credits that the Government is contracting because they allow the budget to be executed with the financing of infrastructure works throughout the national territory.
“Indebtedness itself is not bad. What the indebtedness does is generate resources to be taken to investment projects or replacement of expenses that the national government did at the time”, remarked Montenegro.
The authority indicated that credits for $us 500 million were approved and reiterated that the national economy requires these resources because they are established and programmed in the General State Budget (PGE), which was considered by the same Legislative Assembly for this 2023.
However, the correlation of forces in the Legislative Assembly has changed. Despite the meeting between Evo Morales and Luis Arce, last week In the Cochabamba Tropics, the vote that was given regarding these credits seems to reflect this scenario.
Of the 112 legislators present, only 49 parliamentarians voted for the credits. A similar count occurred when the Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, fuand censored with votes from the visible faction of MAS, in addition to the opposition alliances of Creemos and Comunidad Ciudadana (CC).
“As a Citizen Community we are not going to give them another cent, as long as the MAS does not change its attitude. There is no transparency in public accounts; if they don’t pass a law of access to public information and transparency and does not change his attitude the president, no credit will be approved”, challenged the deputy Enrique Urquidi of that political force.
The deputies of the evista wing indicated that Montenegro did not bring the necessary documentation to support the destination of the funds.
