Luis Escobar / La Paz
The Movement for Socialism (MAS) bench presented a municipal bill to “reconsider” the Bs 175 million loan that Mayor Iván Arias signed with Banco Bisa. The MAS councilors warned that there is another option with better conditions, but the Mayor’s Office warned that this financier is not legal and that, if this rule is approved, the financing that will be used for the renovation of schools and 19 other structuring projects for La Paz would be lost.
“We made a loan reconsideration law thinking of uncovering an alleged act of corruption. The Mayor took a loan of 175 million (Bolivianos) and we have discovered that it was not the only offer. With the 175 million he is going to pay an interest of 5.4%, which is equivalent to a little more than 50 million Bolivians and he had an offer of 3% and had it filed, ”explained yesterday Pierre Chaín, councilor for the MAS.
In his explanation, the legislator assured that the municipality of La Paz could save around 26 million Bolivians in interest. “They (the mayor’s party, For the Common Good) did not enter the process via the Economic Commission for review. They put it in and approved. No (they followed the process) because there were other cheaper offers for the people of La Paz, ”he explained.
The Mayor’s Office of La Paz assumed a loan of 175 million bolivianos from Banco Bisa with an annual interest rate of 5.45%, for a 10-year term and a one-year grace period for principal and interest.
The general advisor of the Mayor of La Paz, Óscar Navarro, said that this loan is “the cheapest that any public entity has achieved”, it is cheaper than a social housing loan that amounts to 7.5% and with which the government placed bonds on the market.
Navarro explained that the credit offered by the financier that is proposed by the MAS is not regulated by the Financial System Supervisory Authority (ASFI). “This credit cannot be accessed because it is not a regulated entity in Bolivia, it is not authorized to operate in Bolivia and if it is external financing, the country only receives resources through the Ministry of Planning,” said the authority.
The president of the Council, Jorge Dulón, said that they “found out” what type of company is the financier. “This company is sole proprietorship and is a representative of Hong Kong that makes alleged investments, it does not give credits.”
Dulón said that this company is not registered with the ASFI, “a fundamental requirement to give a loan”, its telephone number is 1234567810, “that is, it did not have a number”, its emails were opened through Hotmail, Gmail something that not “do the companies that finance so many millions of Bolivians.” He stated that it is “a trout company.”
Problems
The fear of a possible paralysis of this credit for the municipality of La Paz arose after the MAS bench managed to annul the increase in the urban cleaning rate, a measure that was proposed by Mayor Arias last February.
That annulment occurred thanks to the absence of Lourdes Chambilla, a councilor from the Mayor’s party. The permission requested by the legislator left the group For the Common Good in a minority. The leader of this group, Lucio Quispe, acknowledged that this was not the first time that this situation had happened. “I’d like to think they’re coincidences, but for every issue it seems (to be absent),” he said.
The Mayor’s adviser, Óscar Navarro, said that the Council is going to reject the MAS proposal because -in the first instance- it was the same legislative entity that approved it.
Asked if Councilor Chambilla will support the credit with Bisa, Navarro replied: “I don’t think anyone can guarantee that the councilor will vote for the repeal of the law (that annuls the credit) or its rejection. That is a decision that she makes. We hope that she will remain a member of the alliance and support the actions that were defined, ”she explained.
The credit will allow the execution of 19 structural works for La Paz, such as the renovation of 200 educational units with a budget of 20 million bolivianos, the Playón Verde bridge, the remodeling of the Abaroa square and others.
denounce boycott
- Protest “They want to boycott us,” Mayor Iván Arias denounced before the announcement by the MAS councilors to annul the credit of 175 million Bolivians through a bill. The mayor announced that the Ministry of Economy will be consulted to find out if credits can be requested from entities not recognized by the ASFI.
- Position “You know what? There are some irresponsible people, I love that there is opposition, it is good, but when it is serious, it is valued. When he is vulgar, when he lies, the only thing he does is tremble with rage, such cynicism,” the mayor protested on the radio program “La Paz en paz”, in relation to the opposition caucus.
