Bolivia Denies Plans to Privatize Its State Companies

BOLIVIA · ECONOMY

Bolivia’s government has denied any plan to privatize its state companies, casting the rumors as disinformation that is helping fuel weeks of protests against President Rodrigo Paz.

What the Government Said About State Companies

The Mining Ministry issued a statement on Monday rejecting any intention to privatize state mining firms. It said strategic mining areas would not be touched, calling them the patrimony of the Bolivian people. It promised to safeguard workers and keep operations running.

President Paz echoed the message. He ruled out both privatization of strategic companies and increases in basic utility rates. He described the privatization claims as part of a wave of false information and urged dialogue.

The Fear Driving the Protests

The denials land in the middle of a deep crisis. Protests and road blockades demanding the president’s resignation have run for weeks. Fear that the government would sell off state firms is one of the grievances driving them.

The economic toll is mounting. A national industry chamber estimated that blockades had cost the mining sector more than $600 million over about three weeks. Shortages of fuel, food and supplies have spread.

What Reform Actually Means

The government’s position has a nuance. While ruling out privatization, officials say they will overhaul state firms that lose money. Options floated include making them efficient, winding down insolvent ones, or transferring them to workers or local governments.

Paz has framed this as modernization, not a sell-off. He has said Bolivia “will not return to the past,” arguing the old economic model failed. Critics among the protesters remain unconvinced.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bolivia privatizing state companies?

The government says no. It denies any plan to privatize state firms, including strategic mining companies, and calls the claims false.

So what is the government planning?

It says it wants to reform loss-making state firms, making them efficient, winding down insolvent ones, or transferring them to workers or local governments. It frames this as modernization.

Why does this feed the protests?

Fear of privatization and higher costs is among the grievances behind weeks of blockades. The government blames disinformation; protesters distrust its assurances.

Connected Coverage

For more on the crisis and the region, see The Rio Times on Bolivia’s move to allow army deployment and on Chile’s weaker growth outlook.