“We have already conveyed the invitation to the CEPB and all its affiliates so that they can attend a meeting with the president this Wednesday, August 14th,” said the Minister of Economy, Marcelo Montenegro, at a press conference last Thursday.

The call was made in the context of the so-called Economic Productive Business Agreement and the speech given by the president on August 6th on the occasion of the 199th anniversary of the independence of Bolivia.

Arce also advocated for businessmen and social organizations to join actions against the country’s economic crisis. “After listening to the productive business sectors and the population as a whole, we have decided to call a National Dialogue for the Economy and Production in the coming days,” the president said.

In turn, the president of the National Chamber of Commerce of Bolivia (CNC), Jaime Ascarrunz, welcomed the call this Thursday and confirmed his attendance. “We are ready to attend and we hope to communicate to your Excellency the situation of our sector, evaluate the agreements we reached in February, and propose solutions to the difficulties that the country is going through,” he said.

According to CNC reports, companies dedicated to importing final goods, industrial inputs, machinery, and equipment have felt the “double shortage of dollars and fuel” throughout the current year.

“Our associates are making great efforts to acquire foreign currency, given the impossibility, in practice, of accessing dollars from the Central Bank (of Bolivia),” the functionary lamented and revealed that the transfer of dollars abroad became a complicated task that can take months due to the scheduling carried out by financial entities, together with the increase in freight costs due to the shortage of fuel, mainly diesel.

jrr/llp/arc/jpm