Pro Santa Cruz Committee calls Assembly of Cruceñidad for Sept. 9 over diesel crisis

The Pro Santa Cruz Committee will convene an Assembly of Cruceñidad on Sept. 9 to present a technical plan for Bolivia’s diesel supply crisis and the conflict created by Supreme Decree 5676.

The decision followed an expanded board meeting that brought together representatives from productive sectors, business groups, transport operators and provinces affected by diesel shortages and the price differences established under the decree. Committee president Stello Cochamanidis said the proposal would seek to ensure that the country remained permanently supplied with fuel.

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We are going to give him a proposal so that the country can move forward and we can remain permanently supplied with fuel.

Cochamanidis addressed President Rodrigo Paz directly, asking him to reconsider the measures adopted during the crisis. He said the problem could be overcome only through joint work and by allowing different sectors to help find a solution.

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President, reconsider the measures you have taken. The only way out of this crisis is to work in unity, accept help and have everyone work together.

He said Santa Cruz wanted to continue producing and guarantee food supplies for Bolivia, but warned that producers needed a permanent fuel supply to keep operating. In his view, food shortages would not be resolved by decrees but by allowing the productive sector to work continuously so food could reach families across the country.

The proposal will be drafted with affected sectors, institutions and provinces. Cochamanidis said one of its main elements would be to eliminate distortions caused by the two diesel prices, which he blamed for generating corruption. He also called for an end to YPFB’s monopoly over fuel distribution and criticized the central government for preventing departments from finding their own mechanisms to obtain fuel.

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The main problem with Supreme Decree 5676 is the two prices. The only thing that has generated is corruption.

The committee was also due to attend a National Civic Movement meeting focused on the fuel crisis, where civic committees from across Bolivia would discuss the problem and seek a common position. Cochamanidis said the Pro Santa Cruz Committee did not support mobilizations announced in Yapacaní and Cuatro Cañadas while the state of exception remained in force.

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It is not decrees that will solve the food problem. It is action. The productive sector needs to work without stopping so food reaches every Bolivian family.