President Paz targets the dollar, fuel subsidies and the Constitution after 10 months in office

Rodrigo Paz put the dollar, fuel subsidies and constitutional reform at the center of his account of Bolivia’s first 10 months under his presidency. Speaking in Santa Cruz, he defended his government’s fiscal adjustment and outlined the next stage of what he described as an effort to rebuild a country he inherited “laid waste,” without dollars and burdened by state restrictions.

Paz said his administration aims to unify the exchange rate through a reference quotation positioned between the official and parallel rates. He presented the arrangement as a transition toward a unified and flexible foreign-exchange market. “The exchange rate is no longer managed from a bureaucrat’s office, the market does it,” he said, arguing that the new system should benefit exporters, producers replacing imports and investors bringing foreign currency into Bolivia.

Fuel is the other major front. The president again called the subsidy unsustainable and said part of the money ends up financing smuggling. “It is subsidy or the future,” he repeated, contrasting the cost with potential spending on hospitals, schools and roads. He also promised to end state intermediation in fuel imports and distribution, while acknowledging that the change must be gradual and include protection for affected sectors.

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The exchange rate is no longer managed from a bureaucrat’s office, the market does it.

At the Economic Forum 2026, organized by the Santa Cruz Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services and Tourism, Paz said the government had reduced the fiscal imbalance by more than 23.5 billion bolivianos and expected to end the period with a deficit near 9%. He also said it had stopped capital contributions to loss-making state companies, cut their current spending and halted Central Bank lending to the Treasury.

Paz highlighted a fall in country risk from 2,200 points to between 450 and 470. The article added a qualification: an earlier verification found that the 2,200-point figure dated from February 2025, nine months before he took office, while the indicator fell from 666 to 427 points during the period directly attributable to his administration. The forum was designed to produce 10 proposals, with responsible officials, deadlines and indicators for the next 24 months.

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It is subsidy or the future.