In Bolivia, the economic crisis continues to affect the daily lives of the population. For at least a week, the country’s main cities have been facing an oil shortage. As a result, prices exploded and the government announced it would suspend oil exports for three months to return the situation to normal.
2 mins
With our correspondent in La Paz, Nils Sabin
THE Bolivians will they spend Christmas without oil? This is the big question that many people ask themselves. consumers since the beginning of last week. The city of La Paz is bearing the brunt of this shortage. “ It’s impossible to find any. Before, a one-liter bottle cost around 1.5 euros. Now it’s 2.5 euros, or even more. It’s too much! », Explains Ermindo, met in the Max Paredes shopping district.
The situation is surprising because Bolivia is a major producer of oils. In 2023 alone, the country exported nearly $600 million worth of this product. The government accuses producers and intermediaries of speculating on prices, of reserving their production for export and therefore of abandoning the internal market. These accusations are denied outright. But one thing is certain, on the side of sellers and consumers in La Paz, the oil is not arriving: “ There is no oil anywhere! They announced that the markets would be supplied but at my usual seller, there is no oil “.
Other shortages cannot be ruled out
This situation worries Lilian for the coming weeks: “ As a saleswoman, I ordered five cases of oil for the holidays. At this time of year we always order more but the distributors have only delivered one or two. » Other shortages, particularly of rice, cannot be ruled out in the coming weeks.
Also readTo boost its lithium sector, Bolivia joins forces with three new companies