Bolivia's President Pushes Investment Law and IMF Deal Amid Coalition Strains

President Rodrigo Paz, nine months into his term, is set to submit an Investment Law that would cap the combined tax and royalty load on energy companies at roughly 50%, provide incentives for new exploration projects, and diminish the role of state firm YPFB. The measure forms part of a wider market-oriented reform agenda meant to revive growth and secure a $1.9 billion IMF program, Bolivia's first multi-year arrangement since 2006.

By shifting away from the nationalisation policies of former leftist president Evo Morales, the plan seeks to open oil, gas and electricity sectors to greater private participation. Paz's coalition, fragmented among six center-right blocs, lacks a reliable majority, forcing negotiations on a bill-by-bill basis and prompting criticism from allies like the Unity Alliance and internal factions of the Christian Democratic Party.

Opposition voices, including members of the Popular Alliance and the Free Alliance, demand full disclosure of IMF commitments and warn that the program alone will not fix Bolivia's fiscal deficits. Meanwhile, protests by transport workers and market traders loom as the economy contracts and reserves dwindle.