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Bolivia's Hydrocarbons Minister faces grilling amid deepening fuel crisis
🇧🇴 Bolivia /Elections & Politics

Bolivia's Hydrocarbons Minister faces grilling amid deepening fuel crisis

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Under investigation
  • Bolivian Minister of Hydrocarbons Marcelo Blanco faces interpellation in the Legislative Assembly over fuel contracts, import, and supply issues.
  • The Bolivian Chamber of Hydrocarbons and Energy (CBHE) claims a $300 million debt owed by the state, while productive sectors demand the repeal of Supreme Decree 5676.
  • Thousands of drivers are waiting for diesel amid a persistent scarcity, with the minister avoiding setting a date for supply normalization.

Bolivia's Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Marcelo Blanco, is set to be interpellated today by the Legislative Assembly regarding the ongoing fuel crisis, focusing on contracts, import procedures, and supply issues. The interpellation comes as thousands of drivers continue to face long queues for diesel, with the scarcity showing no signs of immediate resolution.

I don't usually give dates.

— Marcelo BlancoThe Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, responding to questions about when the diesel shortage would end.

Minister Blanco, who recently apologized for the weeks-long lines, declined to provide a specific timeline for normalizing fuel supply, stating, "I don't usually give dates." The pressure on the government is mounting not only from the public but also from key industry players. The Bolivian Chamber of Hydrocarbons and Energy (CBHE) has alerted that outstanding debts to companies in the sector exceed $300 million. The CBHE is urgently seeking a meeting with the interim Minister of Economy, Óscar Mario Justiniano, arguing that unpaid obligations are impacting liquidity and hindering investments.

Adding to the complexity, productive sectors are demanding the repeal of Supreme Decree 5676, which established a reference price above 18 Bolivian pesos per liter for diesel for certain large consumers. Groups in Cochabamba have announced mobilizations once the state of exception concludes, calling for the decree's abrogation. The agricultural sector in Santa Cruz is also mobilizing, with the Chamber of Agriculture of the East (CAO) convening an extraordinary congress to define actions against the decree, which its president, Klaus Frerking, described as "improvised because it has solved nothing."

The outstanding debts affect liquidity and restrict investments.

— CBHEThe Bolivian Chamber of Hydrocarbons and Energy, explaining the impact of unpaid obligations on the sector.

Energy expert Francesco Zaratti suggests the crisis extends beyond the decree, highlighting that Bolivia imports approximately 95% of its diesel consumption and requires significant foreign currency reserves. The situation underscores deep-seated issues in the country's energy supply chain and fiscal management.

It is an improvised decree because it has not solved anything, the queues have not disappeared.

— Klaus FrerkingPresident of the Chamber of Agriculture of the East (CAO), criticizing Supreme Decree 5676.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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