“The fuel price hike – which protesters were calling the “gasolinazo” – caused the cost of transport to soar, and pushed all food prices up.” — BBC News

Bolivian President Evo Morales has rescinded a decree which raised fuel prices by more than 70% and sparked civil unrest.

Mr Morales reversed the price rises introduced less than a week ago following talks with trades unions and groups representing indigenous peoples.

The fuel price hike had provoked mass protests and a transport strike.

Bolivia’s army had begun selling bread in response to a strike by bakers angry at the move.

The leftist government said the aim was to prevent shortages and counter a threat by bakers to raise the cost of Bolivia’s daily bread.

Bolivian government corrupt?

To those that speak kindly of Morales “listening to the people,” he was listening alright; listening while people took gas, subsidized by the government ,and smuggled outside the country for a tidy profit, all paid for by the government subsidies themselves. Someone pays for those subsidies, and that is the Bolivian people with higher taxes, reduced public services, or higher interest payments on loans.

So a small percentage of people, criminally minded, profit. The bulk pay the price (down the road), yet the people support this, and like minded types here laud their democratic props, instead of their lack of leadership, communication abilities, or political skill. Poor people will pay a price for this. If you think this was a “win” for the people, you are incorrect.

Something people need to realize about the government in Bolivia is that it’s being run by people with no formal training in economics, justice, etc. This isn’t really worse than their past governments, who were atrocious, but the situation there will be far from quiet. Indeed, Evo Morales is trying to redistribute the resources, but at the same time, corruption is setting in big time.

Cocaine production has doubled since he took office. Bolivians like to chew coca leaves, it’s a part of their culture, but at the same time, the price for cocaine sold in other countries is exponientially higher than what the leaves net in Bolivia. Evo legalizes coca production, and Bolivia is on it’s way to being a narco state.

Bolivia has implemented ‘community justice’, which allows for lynching when the defendant is found guilty by a tribal jury. There is no appeal, and the execution is carried out immediately. Police were murdered in this way, after being tortured, when the community where they passed through accused them of corruption. They actually found a cocaine refinery. However, the laws being what they are, the people in the community that murdered them were absolved.

Evo Morales has been locking up all his political opponents, on the grounds of them being corrupt. There’s no doubt that they are corrupt. Yet corruption is rampant in his government, and all his allies have effective legal immunity. He’s eliminating all opposition, which is horrible for democracy.

Bolivia’s Morales drops planned fuel prices hike by BBC News (1)

Bolivian President Evo Morales has rescinded a decree which raised fuel prices by more than 70% and sparked civil unrest.

Mr Morales reversed the price rises introduced less than a week ago following talks with trades unions and groups representing indigenous peoples.

The fuel price hike had provoked mass protests and a transport strike.

Bolivia’s army had begun selling bread in response to a strike by bakers angry at the move.

The leftist government said the aim was to prevent shortages and counter a threat by bakers to raise the cost of Bolivia’s daily bread.
Bread price doubling?

In a televised message broadcast late on New Year’s Eve, Mr Morales said he had listened to unions and social groups.

He would “obey what the people say by abrogating the decree raising gasoline and everything that accompanied that measure”, the Associated Press news agency reported him as saying.

“That means that all of the measures are withdrawn.”

The government withdrew heavy subsidies for petrol and diesel last Sunday, saying it could no longer afford to maintain a six-year price freeze.

References:

(1) Bolivia’s Morales drops planned fuel prices hike

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