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☆ Bolivia severs ties with Israel, others recall envoys over Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Daniel Ramos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Palestinians conduct search and rescue operations at the site of Israeli strikes on a residential building, in the central Gaza Strip October 31, 2023. The three South American nations lambasted Israel's attacks on Gaza and condemned the deaths of Palestinian citizens. "What we have now is the insanity of Israel's prime minister, who wants to wipe out the Gaza Strip," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday. Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel in 2009 under the government of leftist President Evo Morales, also in protest against Israel's actions in Gaza. Gaza health authorities say that 8,525 people, including 3,542 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7.

Persons: Ahmed Zakot, LA, Freddy Mamani, Israel, Gustavo Petro, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Evo Morales, Jeanine Anez, Arce, U.N, Daniel Ramos, Gabriel Araujo, Lucinda Elliott, Oliver Griffin, Peter Frontini, Brendan O'Boyle, Kylie Madry, Rosalba O'Brien, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, LA PAZ, Israel, Bolivian, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Bolivia, Israel, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Palestinian, Iran

☆ Bolivia severs diplomatic ties with Israel, citing 'crimes against humanity'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, October 31, 2023. REUTERS/Fadi Whadi Acquire Licensing RightsLA PAZ, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Bolivia's government is breaking diplomatic ties with Israel, the Bolivian foreign ministry said on Tuesday, accusing Israel of committing crimes against humanity in its attacks on the Gaza Strip. Bolivia in 2009 cut diplomatic ties with Israel in protest of its attacks on the Gaza Strip. In 2020, the government of President Jeanine Anez reestablished ties. Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Isabel WoodfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Fadi, LA, Israel, Jeanine Anez, Daniel Ramos, Brendan O'Boyle, Isabel Woodford Organizations: REUTERS, LA PAZ, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Bolivian, Bolivia

☆ Bolivia faces water shortage as winter heat wave drives drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Bertha Apaza, a local resident, said the extreme heat was a clear sign of shifting climates that had now forced the city to ration water use. Bolivia has experienced some of the most extreme temperatures in August and September, which are usually temperate months. Many of those living in El Alto, a city of around one million people, come from farming communities raising livestock and planting vegetables to survive. Members of the scientific community warn the situation could become critical with the El Nino weather pattern set to arrive in December, potentially altering the forecast and turning up the temperature. El Nino can prompt extreme weather events from wildfires to cyclones and droughts in some areas and more rainfall in others.

Persons: Isabel Apaza, Gabriel Flores, Claudia Morales, LA, Bertha Apaza, Mancilla, Oscar Paz, El Nino, Monica Machicao, Santiago Limachi, Sergio Limachi, Daniel Ramos, Lucinda Elliott, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, American, Southern, Authorities, El, Universidad Mayor de, Thomson Locations: Lake Titicaca, Huarina, Bolivia, LA PAZ, El Alto, Bolivian, La Paz, Neighboring Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Australia, Universidad Mayor de San Andres

☆ Bolivia hardens tone on cocaine 'mega labs', signaling crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Monica Machicao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Along with Colombia and Peru, Bolivia is widely recognized as a leading world producer of coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine, but the government has long maintained production of consumption-ready cocaine was limited. "They are trying to turn our nation from being a drug transit country to a drug-producing country," he added and presented a drug trafficking map of some 1,804 drug factory busts since 2020, the "vast majority" in Chapare, he said. "At the same time Bolivia has managed to transition from basic paste to hydrochloride." "In Bolivia we are experiencing a dispute between two factions of the MAS, each one pointing the finger at the other suggesting that they are protecting drug traffickers." Reporting by Monica Machicao; Writing by Daniel Ramos; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: LA, Evo Morales, Eduardo del Castillo, MAS President Luis Arce, Morales, Carlos Toranzo, Arce, Toranzo, Monica Machicao, Daniel Ramos, Adam Jourdan, Howard Goller Organizations: Departmental Association of Coca Producers, MAS President, MAS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: La Paz, Bolivia, LA PAZ, Colombia, Peru, Chapare, Bolivian, MAS

☆ Bolivia challenges global dollar dominance with Chinese yuan, Russian rouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ, July 28 (Reuters) - Bolivia's government is determined to curb dependence on the U.S. dollar for foreign trade, instead turning to the Chinese yuan, officials said, as Latin American support for alternative currencies grows. Bolivia has faced months of severe dollar shortages, driven in part by falling natural gas production, a key national export. Net foreign currency reserves have fallen to roughly $4 billion from a peak of $15 billion in 2014, pressuring state finances and threatening Bolivia's long-defended currency peg with the dollar. Not in dollars, but in its own currency," Montenegro said. Financial transactions worth 278 million Chinese yuan ($38.7 million) accounted for 10% of Bolivia's foreign trade in May through July, Montenegro said.

Persons: Marcelo Montenegro, Mikhail Ledenev, Daniel Ramos, Lucinda Elliott, Richard Chang Organizations: LA, U.S, Banco Union, Russia's, Thomson Locations: LA PAZ, La Paz . Bolivia, China, Montenegro, Bolivian, Russian, Bolivia, Moscow, Western, Russia, Beijing, Brazil, Argentina

☆ Bolivia seals $1.4 billion lithium deals with Russia's Rosatom, China's Guoan
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Daniel Ramos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ, June 29 (Reuters) - Bolivia has signed lithium agreements with Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom and China's Citic Guoan Group, the South American country's government said on Thursday, as it looks to develop its huge but largely untapped resources of the battery metal. Bolivia's iconic salt flats are home to the world's largest lithium resources at 21 million tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the country has long struggled to ramp up industrial production or develop commercially viable reserves. Russia's Rosatom, which bid via its Uranium One Group unit, confirmed the news, saying it would invest $600 million in the project, its first large-scale lithium venture overseas, with planned annual capacity of 25,000 tons of lithium carbonate. The deal with Uranium One Group was for feasibility and pre-investment studies, he said, adding multiple tests with Russian technology on the salt flats had shown a lithium recovery rate over 80%, with a purity of around 99.5%. Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Additional reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Energy Franklin Molina, Molina, Russia's, Rosatom's, Kirill Komarov, Citic, Daniel Ramos, Maxim Rodionov, Adam Jourdan, Richard Chang Organizations: LA, Guoan, American, Energy, . Geological Survey, Tesla, BMW, Uranium, Thomson Locations: LA PAZ, Bolivia, United States, America, La Paz, Pasto Grande, Uyuni Norte

The drain in hard currency sparked panic earlier in the year, with Bolivians forming lines outside banks to withdraw dollars. Bond yields spiked sharply and in May the government was forced to sell half of its $2.6 billion gold reserves to raise cash. A major drought in Argentina has hammered grains output and reserves, imperiling a $44 billion debt deal with the International Monetary Fund. "The model is now shifting towards a very big state, a tax-and-spend approach," he said. "It has calmed people a bit... but that amount (gained from the gold reserves sale), $1.3 billion, is not enough for Bolivia," said local financial analyst Jaime Dunn.

Persons: Read, LA, Evo Morales, Jose Gabriel Espinoza, Marcelo Montenegro, Alberto Ramos, Goldman Sachs, spender, Jaime Dunn, Reuters Graphics Espinoza, Morales, Raúl Cortés Fernández, Daniel Ramos, Adam Jourdan, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Departmental Association of Coca Producers, LA PAZ, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, Bolivian, Graphics, Banco, Reuters Graphics, MAS, Thomson Locations: La Paz, Bolivia, Bolivian, America, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Colombia

☆ Bolivian leader open to using yuan for trade, touting 'trend'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LA PAZ, May 10 (Reuters) - Bolivia's president expressed openness to the use of the Chinese yuan for international trade during a press conference on Wednesday, citing similar moves by Argentina and Brazil to tap the Asian currency for transactions with China. International trade transactions tend to be priced in U.S. dollars, especially for major commodity markets like energy and grains, going back decades. Earlier in the year, China and Brazil moved to reduce the dominance of the greenback by signing a deal to set up yuan clearing arrangements that can facilitate bilateral trade. "In Latin America, we have always had a great influence from the United States... but today many countries have more foreign trade with China. Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by David Alire GarciaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bolivia takes control of Banco Fassil, executives arrested
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ, April 26 (Reuters) - Bolivia's government took control of one of the country's largest banks, Banco Fassil, a senior government financial official said on Wednesday, and police arrested several executives for alleged mismanagement. "Mismanagement, unhealthy practices have caused a crisis," the executive director of Bolivia's Financial System Supervision Authority (ASFI), Reynaldo Yujra, told reporters in the city of Santa Cruz. Dozens of police were stationed at Banco Fassil's 185 branches across Bolivia on Wednesday, authorities said. Banco Fassil President Ricardo Mertens, General Manager Jorge Arturo Chávez and another executive, Hernan Suarez, were arrested late Tuesday, while a fourth, Hermes Saucedo, turned himself in early Wednesday morning, according to the Santa Cruz attorney general's office. "The financial system in general is in good health.

The stand-off could threaten the government's revived push to advance lithium projects and make batteries, including through a recent deal with a Chinese consortium led by the world's largest battery maker CATL. Local authorities pledged to try to ease the tensions. "We are going to redouble our efforts as authorities ... so that this mobilization is lifted," said Jhonny Mamani, Potosi governor. Officials blamed the protests on misinformation campaigns and urged Bolivians to allow projects to move ahead or risk losing the chance to develop lithium resources. Reporting by Daniel Ramos and Monica Machicao; Writing by Anna-Catherine Brigida; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia, Bolivia to ask UN to remove coca leaf from narcotics list
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Claudia MoralesBOGOTA, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Colombia and Bolivia will jointly ask the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs to remove coca leaves from its list of prohibited substances and accept the plant's traditional uses, Colombia's government said on Wednesday. "Bolivia and Colombia consider it is the moment to once again put this issue on the table," she said. "To remove the coca leaf - the leaf, not cocaine - from the prohibited substances list." Coca leaves are widely used in different countries in Latin America, especially by indigenous groups, to treat stomach aches and altitude sickness, among other ceremonial uses. Bolivian President Luis Arce said in January his government would push for coca leaves to be removed from the list so they can be commercialized, after his predecessor Evo Morales decriminalized coca nationally.

☆ Bolivia taps Chinese battery giant CATL to help develop lithium riches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Daniel Ramos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Bolivia has chosen a consortium including Chinese battery giant CATL (300750.SZ) to help develop the South American country's huge, but largely untapped, reserves of lithium after a lengthy bidding process involving firms from the United States and Russia. The deal announced at an event in the political capital La Paz would see the CBC consortium partner on direct lithium extraction from the country's Potosi and Oruro salt flats. The companies who have remained in the race include U.S. firm Lilac Solutions, Russia's Uranium One Group and three other Chinese bidders. "Today begins the era of industrialization of Bolivian lithium," Arce said, adding that there was "no time to lose" in developing the metal. Energy minister Franklin Molina said the move showed there were "sovereign alternatives to the privatization models of lithium exploitation."

☆ U.S. court sentences ex-Bolivian interior minister to 6 years in bribery scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - A federal U.S. court sentenced former Bolivian Interior Minister Arturo Murillo to nearly six years behind bars on Wednesday for conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Murillo was sentenced to 70 months in prison in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Another former Bolivian official and three Americans were sentenced in the United States last June after they also pleaded guilty to roles in the same scheme, the department said. Bolivia's government has requested Murillo's extradition to Bolivia, where he faces a host of criminal charges. "Justice has spoken in the United States.

☆ Bolivia's Arce hopes to mend ties with Brazil as Lula takes office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LA PAZ, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Bolivia's President Luis Arce said on Monday he hopes Brazil's new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will help improve diplomatic relations and explain issues that generated controversy during former President Jair Bolsonaro's mandate. Arce pointed to the supposed support of far-right politician Bolsonaro for the resignation of former leftist president Evo Morales in 2019. Like Lula, Morales had formed part of a wave of leftists who dominated Latin American politics at the start of the century. Regarding natural gas contracts, Arce's government said in May Bolivia was seeking higher prices for natural gas sold to Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA), claiming current contracts with the state-run oil company generated steep losses. Lula took office promising to "mend" diplomatic relations.

☆ Hundreds of trucks snarl Bolivia farm region as blockades hit business
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Agustin Marcarian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Agustin MarcarianPAILON, Bolivia, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Hundreds of trucks lined highways in Bolivia's farming region of Santa Cruz on Tuesday, as protesters blockaded routes out of the region following the arrest of the local governor, and hard-hit local businesses urged a return to order. Protests have gripped the lowland region since the Dec. 28 arrest of right-wing local leader Luis Camacho on "terrorism" charges related to an alleged 2019 coup against then president Evo Morales. Another source at a local business group said it would be hard for the region to maintain long protests and road blockades, with many still reeling from a lengthy strike last October and November. In Santa Cruz city, protesters have clashed nightly on the streets, burning cars and tires and offloading fireworks. "We are a peaceful people, we want peace, we want to work under normal conditions," said Gabriela Arias, protesting for Camacho's release in a women's march in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz leaders pledge to fight until Camacho is released, picketing government buildings and stopping transport of grains. "We have a mandate from our assembly that nothing leaves Santa Cruz and that is what we are going to do," said Rómulo Calvo, head of the powerful Pro Santa Cruz civic group. Marcelo Cruz, President of the International Heavy Transport Association of Santa Cruz, said routes were being blocked so no trucks could leave the province. "No grain, animal or supply from the factories should leave Santa Cruz for the rest of the country. "Santa Cruz is the economic stronghold of Bolivia," said Gary Rodríguez, General Manager of the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade (IBCE).

[1/7] Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho receives a medical evaluation following his detention, at an undisclosed location in this image released December 28, 2022. Former President Morales said on Wednesday he hoped Camacho's detention would bring justice after three years. There was an uneasy calm Thursday in Santa Cruz, where signs of damage were visible after protests Wednesday ended with a fire set to the Santa Cruz prosecutor's headquarters. Public Works Minister Edgar Montano said on Twitter his house in Santa Cruz had been set on fire and robbed. The federal prosecutor's office said it would seek the "harshest punishment" for those responsible for damages in Santa Cruz.

☆ Bolivia to protect big-state economic model, plans‘aggressive’ gas push: minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Monica Machicao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LA PAZ, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Bolivia is committed to protecting its subsidy-reliant, big-state economic model despite deficit risks and is planning an "aggressive" push into gas exploration, the economy minister told Reuters. Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said the government has designed "a very aggressive exploration plan" for gas in 2023, but did not go into details. The government is projecting to shrink the 2023 deficit to about 7.5%. "It is not easy, because there are contracts that will last for years, even decades ... We have to push so that more profits remain for Bolivia," Montenegro said. Reporting by Monica Machicao in La Paz Written by Daniel Ramos Edited by Nicolás Misculin, Alexander Villegas and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: Who is Luis Fernando Camacho, the opposition leader arrested in Bolivia?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Prominent Bolivian opposition leader Luis Fernando Camacho was arrested on Wednesday, exacerbating tensions between the government in La Paz and opposition centered around the affluent farming hub of Santa Cruz. The government has said Camacho has the support of elites and economic groups seeking to take control of Santa Cruz. Minister of Public Works Edgar Montano accused Camacho of planning more protests and human rights violations that would hurt the people of Santa Cruz. Why is Santa Cruz the center of opposition? Santa Cruz, one of Bolivia's most affluent and populous regions, has long butted heads with its political capital of La Paz.

LA PAZ/SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Bolivian police on Wednesday detained Luis Fernando Camacho, the governor of Santa Cruz and a prominent opposition leader, the latest sign of political tensions in a region that saw the arrest of a president in neighboring Peru earlier this month. Authorities have not said why Camacho was arrested but he recently helped lead weeks of protests that blocked streets and halted trade in Santa Cruz. Camacho was taken to a local airport to be flown to La Paz, local media reported. "The operation to kidnap the governor was carried out in the streets near his home, as he was returning from his duties," the Santa Cruz government said in a statement. Opposition Senator Erik Moron said in a video that he had been taken by helicopter to an unknown location.

☆ Bolivia's key farming hub ends strike as lawmakers back census
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LA PAZ, Nov 26 (Reuters) - A 36-day general strike in Bolivia's key farming region of Santa Cruz came to an end on Saturday, as lawmakers approved a guarantee to hold a population census in 2024, which will likely hand the region more tax revenues and seats in Congress. "We are lifting the strike and the blockades," local civic leader Romulo Calvo told reporters. Bolivia's economy ministry estimates the strike has cost the country over $1 billion. The census law, which Bolivia's Chamber of Deputies passed early Saturday morning with over two-thirds of votes, has been sent to the Senate for review before it is enacted by President Luis Arce. Regional leaders in soy-rich Santa Cruz said they would remain on standby until the law is approved.

☆ Bolivia to temporarily suspend exports of food products amid protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LA PAZ, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Bolivia's government said on Wednesday it will temporarily suspend exports of food products including soy and beef amid protests in the key farming region of Santa Cruz. The move is aimed at safeguarding food security in Bolivia, said the minister of Productive Development and Plural Economy, Nestor Huanca, adding that the export suspension will include soybean grain, soybean flour, soybean meal, sugar, oil and beef. Leftist President Luis Arce has been facing protests across the country. Earlier on Wednesday, his government struck a deal with gold mining cooperatives to stop protests in the administrative capital La Paz. Reporting by Daniel Ramos, Editing by Isabel Woodford and Richard PullinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bolivian strike over census delay paralyzes agriculture export hub
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LA PAZ, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Thousands of people in Bolivia launched an indefinite strike on Saturday in the lowland city of Santa Cruz, a major agriculture export hub, to protest the postponement of a population and housing census which delays access to more economic resources. One death was reported by police in clashes between people who accepted the strike and those who wanted to reject it. The results of the census are important for the distribution of economic resources and defining the seats in the Bolivian parliament. Lawmakers have called for calm and agreed to continue talks until an agreement is reached that can stop the indefinite strike. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Daniel Ramos in La Paz Writing by Walter Bianchi and Cassanda Garrison Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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