On Thursday, October 6, the Bolivian government reaffirmed its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection of 5.1% for 2022, despite the new estimate of the World Bank (WB) that raised this indicator to 4.1%.
The Minister of Economy and Public Finance, Marcelo Montenegro, said that this positive growth indicator might be affected to some extent by the announced indefinite strike in the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz (east), which is one of the largest contributors to this indicator.
“We are convinced of meeting the GDP growth projection for Bolivia of around 5.1%, as established in the Fiscal Financial Program for 2022. We highlight the recent forecast of the World Bank that raised the country’s growth outlook from 3.9 to 4.1%,” stated the minister.
The arguments considered by the Executive are that Bolivia has registered positive indicators since last year, such as stability, good prospects for exports, improvements in income from foreign remittances, record public investment, effective inflation control policies, and reactivation of activities in general, among others.
According to the minister, in 2021, the country will start to return to the GDP growth path, and it is also expected to close this year with controlled inflation levels, as in the last administration.
According to Montenegro, the reconstruction of the Bolivian economy is progressing at a good pace. It is also expected to improve social indicators such as poverty reduction and unemployment.
However, he clarified that the stoppages of activities in the regions and road blockades harm the economy and its development, as they intend to do from October 22 in the department of Santa Cruz, demanding the implementation of the Population and Housing Census in 2023.
On March 29, the Ministry of Economy and the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) signed the Fiscal-Financial Program (PFF), which projects GDP growth of 5.1% and inflation of 3.3% for 2022, with policies aimed at stability, certainty, and job creation.
Likewise, the document, which sets macroeconomic goals and the direction of fiscal and monetary policies, establishes a fiscal deficit of 8.5% of GDP.
For the government, the objectives of fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies must promote economic and social development while preserving macroeconomic sovereignty and stability.
With information from Xinhua