LA PAZ, Bolivia.- This Sunday, the Bolivian president, Rodrigo Paz Pereiraappointed the members of his first cabinet of ministersbased on their professional career and “meritocracy”, to face the economic crisis that crosses Bolivia and attract foreign investments that inject dollars into the country.
“The first message to the ministers: you are good men, you are capable, you have training, you have knowledge of your areas, you have knowledge of the country, but they are not your merits in themselves. It is the will of the people that is expressed through the faith of the State,” Paz said at the event held in the old Government Palace, in La Paz.
The new president indicated that this is a moment to give an opportunity to “meritocracy” and “efficiency”, in order to carry out a “transformation of the State” and “provide service to the people.”
The new foreign minister of Bolivia is Fernando Aramayoexpert in public management and international relations, who worked in several multilateral organizations and non-governmental organizations.
The Minister of the Presidency is Jose Luis Lupoeconomist and minister on five occasions during the presidencies of Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993), Hugo Banzer (1997-2001) y Jorge Tuto Quiroga (2001-2002), in addition to having been an official in multilateral organizations.
It also highlights Jose Gabriel Espinozawho was recently part of Paz’s economic team when he was still president-elect. He is an academic who worked in business and union entities.
The new cabinet also includes Mauricio Medinaceliwho occupies the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and is considered one of the most important experts in the area. He worked for various companies and international organizations, and held the position during the transitional Government of Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé (2005-2006).
The Ministry of Government (Interior) is in charge of Marco Antonio Oviedo; the Defense, directed by Raúl Salinas; while the head of Development Planning is José Romero Pinto, and the head of Public Works, Mauricio Zamora.
The new Minister of Justice is Freddy Alejandro Vidovichwho is also interim head of Cultures; Edgar Morales Mamani assumes the Labor portfolio; Marcela FloresHealth and Sports; and Beatriz Garciathat of Education.
Jose Luis Lopez he assumed the Ministry of Rural Development on an interim basis; Oscar Justinian is the new interim minister of Productive Development; while Cinthya Yañez Eid She is minister without portfolio in charge of the Tourism area.
Paz clarified that this designation is part of a “first stage of ministerial reorganization,” after which the structure of the State will be transformed “little by little.”
The head of state asked his collaborators to dedicate their efforts to the “full service” of each Bolivian with “humility”, in addition to opening Bolivia to the world, complying with the program of “capitalism for all”, eliminating what he calls the “tranca” or bureaucratic State and strengthening state construction from the regions.
“We need promptness. Bolivia is about to receive a huge amount of resources from abroad and the will to invest in the homeland. It is only up to us to give access to those dollars that want to come from abroad,” Paz told his ministers.
One of Paz’s main campaign commitments is to resolve the foreign currency shortage that the country has faced since 2023, coinciding with the decline in net international reserves (RIN) and the decline in hydrocarbon income due to the depletion of old natural gas wells.
The lack of dollars was reflected, more than a year ago, in the constant shortage of fuel, which until now was subsidized by the State, which caused the increase in the prices of food, consumer products and services.
Rodrigo Paz carried out the ministerial inauguration in the old Government Palacefrom where he announced that he will centralize his work, instead of doing it in the Big House of the Peoplethe adjacent building that was the headquarters of the Executive since 2018, during the administrations of Evo Morales (2006-2019) y Luis Arce (2020-2025).
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