Miami, March 9. Former Bolivian President Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) predicted this Thursday a strong economic crisis for his country, “announced for a long time” and the consequence of erroneous economic policies that began with Evo Morales and continued with the current leader of the Andean country, Luis Arce.
“The coming economic crisis is part of a predictable cycle,” Quiroga said in statements to EFE in Miami, where he is attending the Concordia Americas 2023 summit, which brings together leaders for two days to analyze the issues facing facing Latin America and the West. Hemisphere.
Quiroga, who was vice-president between 1997 and 2001 with Hugo Banzer at the head of the country, pointed out that these two leaders “squandered the gas resource” in Bolivia, one of the reasons why the economy currently presents, according to him, prospects. .
“The situation we are going to reach is reached with a much higher collection than in my time,” he said, after pointing out that these are the consequences of typical populist policies.
He said that in addition to the weakening of the energy sector and, more particularly, the gas sector, there was an equally worrying decline in the country’s financial reserves, which, he assured, “was predictable”.
“I predicted that all of this was going to explode”, after qualifying that “the current gap in the balance of payments” makes it very difficult to foresee a promising economic future.
Quiroga pointed out that in the face of what was to come, the Arce government opted for measures which he described as “slaps that only create greater insecurity”.
For this reason, the former president said that “a future that is going to be very complex” is coming, which is not helped by the tension experienced in the streets of Bolivia in recent months with an increase in protests from different social groups. sectors.
“To all this must be added the problems of governance of the executive due to internal struggles which promote political instability,” said the president, who was also finance minister in 1992.
Quiroga also referred to other problems facing the region and more particularly the case of Venezuela, whose government declared him “persona non grata” twice, to underline that, as in his country, the situation does not is not very encouraging.
“Hyperinflation and the departure of 7 million people are a sign of Venezuela’s problems,” he said of a country he says is controlled by foreign elements, including Vladimir’s Russia. Cheese fries.
The Concordia Americas Summit 2023, a 2-day international forum that brings together leaders who prioritize dialogue as a means of resolving critical issues affecting the American continent, began this Thursday in Miami with the participation of the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, and his Surinamese counterpart, Chan Santokhi, among others, by videoconference. EFE
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