Bolivia: Corruption and Errors in Petroleum Contracts Hinders Nationalization of Natural Gas

Bolivian President Evo Morales has reacted angrily to revelations that there was corruption among members of his Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) in the setup of contracts to extract the country's large natural-gas reserves. Legislators from the conservative opposition party Poder Democratico y Social (Podemos) have been raising significant criticisms regarding errors in natural-gas contracts arranged by the Morales administration. The controversy, which has bogged down the nationalization of Bolivia's natural-gas resources, led to the firing of the head of the state petroleum company.

YPFB president resigns

The head of Yacimientos Petrol feros Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), Bolivia's state petroleum company, barely lasted two months in the job. Manuel Morales Olivera resigned at the president's request because of the scandal regarding errors in renegotiated gas contracts with multinational corporations. On March 23, Hydrocarbons Minister Carlos …

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Publication information: Article title: Bolivia: Corruption and Errors in Petroleum Contracts Hinders Nationalization of Natural Gas. Contributors: Not available. Magazine title: NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs. Publication date: March 30, 2007. Page number: Not available. © 2009 Latin American Data Base/Latin American Institute. COPYRIGHT 2007 Gale Group.

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