At the beginning of September 2003, the Single Central Union of Peasant Workers of Bolivia, following the orders of Felipe Quispe, kidnapped more than a thousand tourists in the La Paz town of Sorata. Although the subversives used all kinds of populist narratives to justify their actions, they were only crimes committed by third-generation gangs. The final goal of the rebels was not to protect the natural resources of the country, much less to defend the indigenous people, but rather to elevate the drug cartels to power.
The defense of Bolivian gas was one of the stories championed by the terrorists. However, nineteen years after those tragic events, Bolivia has lost its status as a gas exporter in the region. Reservations are in decline. In addition, several specialists announce that by 2030 Bolivia will be importing more than 70 percent of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, liquefied gas and natural gas. Even now, contradicting its own proposals from 2003, the government is prioritizing the sale of gas to the foreign market.
I know someone will tell me: “Bolivia had growth records in the past decade.” My answer will be the same as always: “Bolivian growth was not sustainable for a simple reason: it was inefficient state spending, nothing more.” In fact, the Economic Social Community Productive Model (MESCP) is so bad that we have nine consecutive years of fiscal deficit and the highest foreign debt in our history.
With Bolivian gas, one of the greatest sophisms of the left was repeated: in socialism we, the people, are the owners. However, it is clear that the gas rent was used solely to support the dictatorship. Evo Morales and his henchmen left nothing standing.
But the energy sector was not the only victim. Since 2019, Bolivia occupies the worst places in the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum. For example, for the year 2019, the country was ranked 107th, being one of the worst, only above Venezuela.
According to The end of the eternal process, a study carried out by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 2016, opening a business in Bolivia takes more than 11.3 hours of paperwork. This situation is dramatic, since the regional average is 5.4 hours. It is not only about the time invested, but about the number of requirements and the mistreatment of the bureaucrats.
The IDB presented, as an example of how bad it is to live in Bolivia, the case of Mrs. Domitila Murillo. A 70-year-old citizen, who took 11 months to renew her identity card, even agreed to bribe a policeman to expedite her process, only to die two weeks after obtaining her document. I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if the poor woman died without having her papers in order.
But we are not talking about a mistake, but about a plan to end our freedoms. For the greater expansion of the State translates into a reduction of the private spaces of the citizens.
A country without gas, indebted for several generations and without respect for the citizen are the true results of the Agenda of October 2003. There are many guilty. The largest is the government, without a doubt. But we must not forget those who did not stop fawning over Morales. Those who, by earning a few good dollars in the short term, helped grow an insatiable Leviathan.
Past generations used to say: “Bolivia has the best politicians at the worst times, and vice versa.” Although my faith in that happening is slim to none, I hope the grandparents were right.
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