“We have instructed the Armed Forces to militarize the borders, to avoid national products getting out of the country. There are still regulations that we are gradually issuing to tighten control at the borders,” the head of state said on Monday.

Arce explained that the climate crisis and forest fires, among other factors, reduced production capacity in several countries in the region, causing a demand for Bolivian food, whose prices are lower. “We have to toughen up as Bolivians, because, for now, thanks to our food production, many neighboring countries are taking advantage and living off that low production cost,” he said, adding that Bolivia suffers from reverse smuggling because it is the most economically stable country in the region in many years, with low inflation.

Deputy Minister of Consumer Defense Jorge Silva previously reported that the Food Security Committee requested the militarization of borders with Peru, Brazil and Argentina to counteract what he called “reverse smuggling.”

Silva stressed that national products such as sugar, rice and meat, among others, are illegally sold at a higher price in markets in Brazil, Chile and Argentina, which results in an increase in prices in the domestic market.

Referring to the issue, the president of the Departmental Association of Pig Farmers of Santa Cruz, Jaime Méndez, described President Arce’s decision to militarize the borders as “great.” “We see it as a great measure. Did you see what happened with Argentina? Before, Bolivians, Paraguayans, Peruvians and everyone else would go to buy things from Argentina because everything was cheap, right? (…),” he commented, and denounced that they even take Bolivian products to Brazil “because we have become a cheap market”. He also warned that as long as this practice continues, there will be a “bleeding of the country and food security will be affected (…)”.

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