LatinNews Daily - 13 August 2024

*Bolivia’s President Luis Arce has carried out a cabinet reshuffle, replacing the ministers for hydrocarbons & energy, labour, and rural development. The hydrocarbons & energy minister, Franklin Molina, was replaced by Alejandro Gallardo Baldivieso, who was previously the director of the state-run hydrocarbons industrialisation company, Empresa Boliviana de Industrialización de Hidrocarburos (Ebih). The labour minister, Verónica Navia, was replaced by Erland Julio Rodríguez Lafuente, who previously directed the attorney general’s office in La Paz department. The rural development minister, Santos Condori Nina, was replaced by Juan Yamil Flores Lazo, a former environment secretary in the Chuquisaca departmental government. Gallardo’s appointment as hydrocarbons & energy minister is the most notable aspect of the reshuffle, coming amid intermittent protests over fuel shortages, a planned referendum aiming to phase out fuel subsidies, and as Bolivia’s struggling natural gas sector is expecting a boost from the major new Mayaya gas discovery in La Paz department. Gallardo said at his inauguration ceremony that he will focus on “reducing our dependence on imported fuels”. Speaking at the same event, Arce said that “change is always good to boost energy, ideas, commitment, and the work that will be essential to bring success to the Bolivian people”.