| The country appears to be “in reverse and out of control,” after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted a 3.3% drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and an inflation rate that would rise to 20.7%. |
La Paz, Apr. 16 (DPnet).– When Rodrigo Paz assumed office in November 2025, he declared an "economic, financial, energy, and social emergency." Key measures were the end of fuel subsidies, export liberalization, contracts to attract foreign companies, and the dismantling of some labor protections. The government initially called to join a round of "dialogue," and the official narrative was categorical: those who did not participate were unpatriotic, because opposing the decree was presented as akin to pushing the country into bankruptcy.
At this point, the IMF projects a “deeper recession of -3.3%, inflation that would rise to 20.7%, and an economic environment marked by more severe restrictions." The causes of this worsening lie in the continued decline of the hydrocarbons sector, acute fuel shortages, a collapsing fiscal balance, the persistent lack of foreign currency, the forced adjustment of spending, and the impact of adverse external factors, such as the war in the Middle East.
During his first 100 days, President Paz found that foreign exchange reserves have almost evaporated, forcing him to a severe rationing of U.S. dollars. Shortages of fuel and essential goods followed the failure of the state-run gas industry, once the engine of the economy, that has caused further massive fiscal deficits.
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The author, Mollie Engelhart, is an expert in agricultural issues and highlights here the disastrous situation of instability and inefficiency caused by an bloated, atrophied bureaucracy that is highly hindering free enterprise. She is a regenerative farmer and rancher at Sovereignty Ranch, committed to food sovereignty, soil regeneration, and educating on homesteading and self-sufficiency, after her journey from vegan chef and LA restaurateur to hands-in-the-dirt farmer.
directed by regulation, shaped by corporate interests, and leaving both consumers and farmers dependent, unhealthy, and without real alternatives.
In October 2024, the Council of Europe’s Democratic Institutions and Civil Society Division launched a grant to support civil society organisations with a clear purpose - fostering a democratic culture, increasing public engagement in decision making, and strengthening the links between civil society and the Council of Europe - the grant also sought to raise awareness of the Council’s standards on strengthening democracy, especially the Reykjavik Principles for Democracy, and highlight the value of collaboration and identify new opportunities in this area. 
