After the recent primaries in Bolivia, another authority resigned to the Electoral Court (TSE). Judge Dunia Sandoval send a long letter to the president of the Congress in which she denounced that it is impossible for her to continue working due to the change of direction in the TSE. Sandoval was with Antonio Costas one of the judges that opposed a new postulation of President Evo Morales and Vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera.
Bolivia fell 20 places in the Global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2018, from 112 to 132. The index – developed by Transparency International (TI), reveals that Bolivia obtained a score of 29, where 0 is the highest level of corruption and 100 is the highest score.
On 2012, 2013 and 2015, Bolivia maintained a score of 34 in the perception of corruption; while in 2014 achieved its highest historical score reaching 35. However, the situation deteriorated by 2016 and 2017 with 33 in both years until reaching 2018 with only 29 points in the perception of corruption.
The construction of the Mutún steel plant began after an event presided over by President Evo Morales. China´s Sinosteel will build the plant in the next three years. With an investment of $US 546 million, the government expects that the plant will produce a million tonnes of steel.
YPFB, the state oil company, will open offices in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Peru. YPFB’s president, Oscar Barriga said that the expansion is part of the internationalisation plan of the company.
A report published by La Nación hinted that imports of natural gas from Bolivia tend to lose prominence in the energy matrix of the neighboring country that supports its strategy in the rationalization of resources and greater local production of energy not only hydrocarbons, but electricity.
The National Electricity Company (ENDE) pledged that the Ivirizu hydro project, which will provide 290 megawatts into the National Interconnected System (SIN), will conclude in 2021. The Ivirizu Hydroelectric Project is being built in the Carrasco National Park of the department of Cochabamba in a surface of 250 hectares with an investment of US$ 549 million.
The president of Bolivia’s National Electricity Company (Ende), Joaquín Rodríguez, reported on Monday that, from the second half of this year, it is expected to start exporting electricity to Argentina, once the transmission line between both countries is established.
The president of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) , Óscar Barriga, indicated the state company plans to invest 1,450 million dollars in 2019. The state-owned company reported today that US$ 450 million dollars have been earmarked for hydrocarbon exploration projects.
Bolivian exports to Venezuela fell dramatically from 2010 to 2018. According to the Bolivia Instituto of Trade (IBCE), Bolivian sales to Venezuela reached in 2010 $US341 million, but by November 2018 they reached only $US1 million, a fall of 99.7%. Bolivia is one of the main political allies of Venezuela, but this friendship did not translate on a healthy trade exchange.
The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) launched a benchmark bond fro €750 million for a period of five years and a coupon of 0.625%. According to the organisation, the launching surpassed expectations.
