The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, announced ten measures to address the fuel shortage in the country, attributed to the lack of dollars for its importation. These measures include the implementation of continuous working hours, telecommuting, and virtual classes, among others.
Arce, alongside his ministers, expressed concern about the crisis and highlighted the resilience of the Bolivian people against forces seeking to exploit the situation for destabilization. The measures aim to improve the organization of society and support economic activity.
Among the announced provisions is the application of continuous working hours in the public and private sectors of regional capitals and El Alto, the possibility of telecommuting, and the authorization of virtual classes based on the evaluation of departmental educational services.
Additionally, the service hours of telephones in La Paz will be extended, the use of the public vehicle fleet will be reduced, a mobile application will be implemented to know the availability of fuels in real time, and the distribution of fuels at gas stations will be increased.
The president ruled out measures such as devaluation or the elimination of fuel subsidies, arguing that they would not solve the problem of the dollar shortage. He also reiterated the need for the Legislature to approve external credits to restore liquidity of dollars to the Bolivian economy.
Arce's government has accused opposition forces and dissenters from MAS of sabotaging their management by stalling the approval of loans. The dollar shortage in Bolivia has been a persistent problem since 2020, with fuel supply issues since last year, leading to long lines at gas stations and threats of mobilizations.
