LatinNews Daily - 27 May 2025

*Bolivia’s President Luis Arce has announced a series of measures aimed at reducing inflation, tackling smuggling, and addressing a shortage of fuels. The measures, which come as the government is facing mounting criticism over soaring prices and a slowdown in production caused by fuel shortages, will “preserve purchasing power, guarantee the supply of essential products, and halt the effects of speculation on prices,” Arce said. Among other things, the new measures will see nearly 1,500 additional troops deployed to tackle smuggling in border regions; tighter scrutiny of the transport of items in the basic food basket to deter smuggling; B$350m (US$50m) in government funding to boost production of corn and rice over the next five years; a B$22m fund to improve small poultry farmers’ access to credit; the elimination of tariffs, until the end of 2025, on the import of chicks, veterinary imports, and inputs for the soybean oil sector; the establishment of new transport routes for oil, to address shortages caused by problems unloading tankers at the Chilean port of Arica; a prohibition on state oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) using cryptocurrency; the launch of new banking services aimed at boosting Bolivians’ ability to save money; the easing of restrictions on bringing foreign currency into Bolivia; and a pledge to punish price speculation.

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