Central Bank of Bolivia Counters Economic Rumors

Yesterday, Edwin Rojas, the leader of the Central Bank of Bolivia, reassured everyone that Bolivia will continue to have enough dollars for its needs.

This includes buying things from other countries. He said that the Bank works closely with the Government, especially in deals involving buying goods from abroad for public use.

It’s important to note that private businesses handle most of these deals.

Recently, there was news that Bolivia had less money in its international savings (Net International Reserves).

To respond to this, Rojas spoke on Red Unitel, a local TV channel. He confirmed that the Bank can provide dollars for many different reasons.

Rojas made an important point clear. The amount of money saved, 1.709 billion dollars at the end of 2023, can change daily. This is because dollars constantly moves in and out of the country.

He said that there’s no danger of these savings running out. There were rumors that Bolivia might have trouble buying important things like diesel.

But Rojas pointed out that Bolivia’s money situation is stable and that trade is going well.

Talking about making the savings better, Rojas mentioned some current challenges. He talked about steps like adding a 3.5 billion dollar debt to the budget for 2024.

He also talked about how important it is to buy gold. This action is expected to increase the savings a lot. They plan to buy at least 10 tons of gold this year.

Looking to the future, Rojas shared the government’s long-term plans. These include relying less on buying things from other countries by growing industries in Bolivia.

The plans involve making biodiesel plants and selling lithium. There are also plans to use iron from the Mutún area.

All these efforts are aimed at making Bolivia’s savings stronger.

Lastly, Rojas spoke about concerns regarding the Bolivian currency losing value and the idea of a different dollar market.

He strongly denied these possibilities. He confirmed that both the government and the Central Bank plan to keep the exchange rate the same. This is part of their budget plan.