He recalled that in 1987 this indicator reached 99.1 percent of the size of the economy, while neoliberal governments stayed above 50 percent and only dropped to 28.2 percent when former President Evo Morales came to power in 2006.
In November 2019, when the coup d’état by conservative forces took place, Bolivia’s debt stood at around 27.4 percentage points, according to a graph showing the headline during an interview with Bolivian TV channel.
However, under the leadership of the de facto regime of Jeanine Áñez (2019-2020), this indicator rose again to 33 percent, explained Montenegro.
He added that “it was reduced to 29.9 percent in President Luis Arce’s government, what does that mean? That there is proper foreign debt management.”
The minister stressed that this situation allows Bolivia to participate in the capital markets where multilateral organizations provide it with loans because of its economic mobility, productive capacity and income generation.
Economic and financial reports indicate that around 70 percent of this exposure is mainly with multilateral organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the Latin American Development Bank, according to monthly central bank external debt reports in 2021.
The Ministry points out that this qualitative element is important because these organizations do not issue loans that are not intended for investment, a requirement that is met in the Plurinational State.
In addition, various organizations pre-assess the applicant country’s macroeconomic performance before these loans are disbursed.
All the studies carried out – adds the portfolio – reflect the good behavior of the economic variables of Bolivia, that is, the Plurinational State is solvent ahead of the rest of the world in terms of debt.
The Bolivian authorities warn that the implementation of the community social economy model and a responsible tax policy meant that the country’s total public debt in 2022 was among the lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean, lower than that of countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia , Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay.
The ministry describes that Bolivia’s public debt is well below the limits set by international organizations such as the Maastricht Treaty, which sets it at 60 percentage points, providing an acceptable margin to access larger resources needed for investment.
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