July 12, 2023, 4:00 AM
July 12, 2023, 4:00 AM
The delivery of Dollars to banks doubled. From $50 million, financial entities began to receive $100 million, according to calculations by the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance. However, on a tour of the financial center of Santa Cruz, it was found that the currency is scarce. In banks, its commercialization is restricted. The parallel price persists at Bs 7.45 for the purchase and Bs 7.55 for the sale.
Since March, the country has experienced a dollar shortage. This led to the official listing being set aside in market operations. Since 2011, the Government of Evo Morales established a fixed exchange rate of up to Bs 6.86 for the purchase and Bs 6.96. But currently transactions with that price are things of the past in the market.
In the first instance the Government said it was a speculative wave encouraged by analysts, social networks and some media. Even from the State it was announced that it would prosecute people who speculate on the price of this currency.
In statements to state media, the Minister of Economy and Public Finance, Marcelo Montenegro, assured that the shortage of the currency was surpassed.
“It must also be said, there is dollars in the economythe private sector has it, in addition to the increase that we have given as a national government, we were giving monthly to private banks between $50 and $us 60 million monthly, now it is giving like $us100 million monthly and what does that generate? It generates more availability of this currency,” said Montenegro, according to a report by the ABI agency.
The authority added that several of the people who they bought dollars they did it “to speculate”, since “a business has been opened to generate a (profit) margin”.
On July 7, the president of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), Edwin Rojas, assured that the demand for dollars was “substantially reduced”, since “in the last month only in La Paz we have sold 11 million dollars, which is quite small compared to what happened in March.”
“There are not even in the banks”
DUTY made a tour and consulted several free traders to see if the sale of the currency and its price stabilized. To avoid reprisals, they asked not to be cited and indicated that up to now the shortage of dollars persists.
This has made the price stay away from the official exchange rate of 6.86 for buying and Bs 6.96 for selling.
In the streets, the dollar is Bs 7.55 for sale while it is 7.45 for purchase.
“There are no dollars, not even in the banks. That is the reality, politicians lie,” said a free trader consulted by DUTY.
Then he added that “it will be very difficult for the price to go down.”
This medium went to three banks from the city center and financial companies indicated that the sale is limited. In it union bankwhich has state participation, you even have to fill out a form and stand in line.
In another financier they indicated that the dollar sales It is only done to people who have an account in that type of currency and not to those who have savings accounts in Bolivians. In another bank they indicated that they did not know when they would have dollars for sale.
The Association of Private Banks of Bolivia (They poke) indicated that the spokesperson was on vacation.
The economist and former director of the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), José Gabriel Espinoza, described as improbable the statements made by Minister Montenegro.
He observed that the country is currently experiencing a slow deterioration of the economy that tends to be complicated by taking into account the low levels of dollar reserves.
He emphasizes this factor since the country must do external debt service payments and due to the importation of fuel that have to increase due to the beginning of the winter grain harvest period and the previous works for the winter campaign.
For the specialist, the Government will continue forcing a false narrative regarding the dollar given that admit a shortage It would mean recognizing that the economic model in force since 2006 does not respond to times of crisis.
“They deny (the scarcity of the dollar) due to a political factor. We no longer talk about the economyto Luis Arce it is not going to admit that the model is failing,” said Espinoza.
