LatinNews Daily - 26 November 2025

*Bolivia’s Economy and Finance Minister José Gabriel Espinoza has announced that the new government led by President Rodrigo Paz will ask congress to return the 2026 budget that was approved under Paz’s predecessor Luis Arce (2020-2025), so that it can be modified. Espinoza said that the government is planning to cut spending by “at least 30%”. Paz said yesterday that, while remaining “socially responsible”, his administration will “reformulate that budget, which was aimed at spending and not at investment, the promotion of the economy, or Bolivians”. The economy ministry also announced yesterday that it was eliminating four taxes that it said discourage private investment and cost more to collect than they earn in revenue. These are the wealth tax (IGF), the tax on financial transactions (ITF), and two taxes on gambling (IJ and IPJ). The economy ministry yesterday began publishing a daily tally of public spending which details the main burdens on public finances. According to yesterday’s figures, spending on fuel is the government’s main daily cost, amounting to B$309.7m (US$44.8m). The Paz administration has previously said that it will begin phasing out fuel subsidies, a move that was abandoned amid fierce protests when it was attempted in 2010 by former president Evo Morales (2006-2019). Other leading daily costs highlighted by the government were healthcare (B$142.6m) and the Renta Dignidad pension scheme (B$100m).

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