Bolivia removes fuel subsidy--Prices up 70 %

(Álvaro Marcelo García Linera)Image via Wikipedia
BBC:

Bolivia has announced a sharp rise in the price of fuel, with petrol and diesel going up by more than 70%.

The main transport union called an indefinite strike in protest.

The state could not go on subsidising prices when so much fuel was being smuggled abroad by profiteers, Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera said.

The government said it would compensate for the fuel price rise by increasing public sector wages and freezing utility bills.

"We are bringing fuels up to international price levels," Mr Garcia said on Sunday.

"State subsidies cost $380m (£246m) a year; we don't want this to continue. We buy expensive diesel fuel and sell it cheap."

Low-octane petrol prices will now rise 73%, while diesel will go up 83%.

...
This is an unusually smart move for the Bolivia control freaks who labor under the mistaken impression that socialism is some value to the people. Even they are having to bend a little to market forces.
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