RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – While the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance highlights the report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that concludes that Bolivia is the best-positioned country in Latin America to withstand the global effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine, economists differ with this assessment, agreeing that the Bolivian economy is still fragile.
The EIU report ranked Bolivia in the first place “in resilience and adaptability to the problem or economic effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine,” with a score of 2.14. Below this rating are Ecuador and Paraguay with 2.29, Chile with 2.43, and Peru with 2.57.
In its evaluation, the magazine considered the inflation rate of Latin American countries, public debt, public sector interest payments as a percentage of total income, current account balance, political, economic, and social stability, among other indicators.
“Thanks to the measures implemented, Bolivia has economic stability, price equilibrium, and low inflation levels. These are the results highlighted by international organizations,” expressed the Minister of Economy and Finance, Marcelo Montenegro.
BOLIVIA WITHOUT A PLAN B
According to the doctor and economic analyst Antonio Saravia, the country’s economy is not prepared to resist anything. He says that it is at a ‘tremendously’ fragile point.
“The Net International Reserves (NIR) are bottoming out at US$4.5 billion, of which only US$1.4 billion are cash. NIR reached over US$15 billion in 2014. They have reached such a low level that the Government has decided to repatriate the dollars held by state-owned companies abroad, is exploring the sale of gold held by the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), and has arranged the purchase of gold produced in the national territory in exchange for monetary emission,” noted Saravia.
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