FILE – A sign alerts customers that there is no gasoline at a fuel station after five days of roadblocks by supporters of former President Evo Morales affecting the fuel and food supply, in La Paz, Bolivia, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)
La Paz, Bolivia — Bolivia will strip bureaucrats of their lunch break, reduce in-person schooling and slash use of the public car fleet to alleviate a crippling fuel shortage, President Luis Arce has announced.
Arce unveiled the plan to deal with a problem that has brought people out on the streets for months against his government, setting up roadblocks that blocked critical fuel deliveries, further harming the struggling economy.
READ: Facing Bolivia’s economic crunch with toy houses, fake banknotes
The South American country has been in a deep economic rut since 2023, having cut back on imports of fuel — which it sells domestically at subsidized prices — because of falling revenues from the sale of gas, its main source of foreign currency until 2020.
“Bolivia is not bankrupt… it has an economy that continues to generate public investment,” Arce insisted in a televised message Wednesday, surrounded by his cabinet ministers.
Among the steps to be taken: reducing the use of state vehicles by half, allowing for more virtual classes to cut back on car and public transport use, and making public servants work from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm daily without a break — thereby reducing the lunch traffic rush.
The agricultural sector will have priority when it comes to fuel distribution, said Arce, who also announced he would step up military controls to crack down on fuel smuggling.
READ: ‘Everything is expensive!’ Bolivia faces a shocking economic collapse
Inflation in Bolivia is at its highest level in 16 years, and the country is battling a ballooning fiscal deficit.
“The problem our country faces today is very simple, it is the lack of temporary dollar liquidity,” Arce said.
The president has not said whether he will seek reelection in August.
Former leader Evo Morales is hoping to make a comeback despite being constitutionally barred from seeking another term.
Morales is also charged with human trafficking involving a minor over his alleged relationship with a teenage girl while in office.