Electric cars in Bolivia: an obstacle course
The fuel crisis in Bolivia has two structural solutions, in the sense that both aim to reduce the demand for liquid fuels. The first is to convert cars with petrol engines to CNG (Car Natural Gas). The irrefutable convenience of this conversion for the user and for the State has already been demonstrated and I […]
Sell low to buy high
About the insane policy to sell low natural gas to Brazil in order to buy high petrol for domestic consumption and a structural response to this loss.
It’s no longer a crisis, it’s a collapse
Bolivia suffers from fuel shortages, which can be felt in the endless queues at the pumps. It is a crisis that is approaching an energy collapse, not yet as serious as the one suffered by Cuba and Ecuador, but which is going in that direction. We know the causes, but we understand less about YPFB’s […]
What the MAS neglected
According to President Luis Arce, the disaster of the MAS’s energy policy is due to the fact that “nationalization has been neglected.” In fact, the president criticized the governments that preceded him (omitting that he was the “super minister” of the economic area) who devoted themselves to monetizing the gas reserves inherited from liberal governments, […]
State holdings
This week I’m breaking a 25-year-old tradition of fortnightly columns, so I don’t let the topic of Public Enterprises (PE) introduced in my previous installment cool down. The basic concept for answering what to do with PEs is “State Participation”, i.e., the way in which the State intervenes directly in the economy. In a country […]
What to do with state-owned enterprises?
It is said that a Spanish peasant went to visit a convent and was amazed by the row of half-busts that adorned the cloister. While a friar explained to him that it was St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Francis, and so on, the farmer could not help but comment: “From the belt upwards I too […]
Hic sunt leones
“Here are the lions” said the Romans about an unknown region, full of dangers; a saying that fully fits the “three-headed” referendum that President Arce has announced, venturing into a political terrain full of unknowns and populated by “lions” ready to feast. I will not dwell on the two referendums that aim to amend the […]
They have ears, but they don’t listen
Aging involves the gradual and irreversible loss of certain physical abilities, starting with hearing. Without being a disease, the process of progressive deafness is particularly annoying because of its effects on social relationships, much more so than other faculties that degrade with age. Not to mention when deafness manifests itself at an early age or […]
What can Bolivia expect from MERCOSUR?
Bolivia is finally a full member of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) amid the skepticism of foreign trade experts. And no wonder. We entered a free trade zone like dwarfs in an NBA game. For example: our macroeconomic indicators (annual and per capita GDP, debt and deficit as a percentage of GDP) compete with Venezuela […]
Economic damage to the state
I find great ambiguity in the concept of “Economic Damage to the State” (EDS), which in general terms is the affectation of state assets by officials and authorities, but which has become a reason for political persecution. EDS is one of the most common offenses in a society that idolizes the state and usually manifests […]