Bolivia to end fuel subsidies under IMF bailout

Bolivia's government said Thursday it has agreed to end all fuel subsidies by 2027 under a $1.9 billion bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

The IMF said in July that it had reached agreement with President Rodrigo Paz's government on a 36-month loan. The government has now set out conditions attached to the deal, including ending fuel prices kept artificially low by the state.

The government said it would increase spending on some social programs to cushion the impact. The agreement still needs to be ratified by Bolivia's Congress.

Economy Minister Christian Morales said Bolivia was not doing the IMF's bidding, but taking steps “necessary to get out of the debacle we inherited” from the previous left-wing government.

Paz recently doubled the price of diesel for large consumers such as farmers, saying cross-border fuel smuggling was worsening fuel shortages. The increase sparked protests, but mass anti-government protests and blockades that disrupted parts of the country in May and June have not resumed.