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IMF role in Bolivian crisis

24 November 2003

Bolivia’s recent upheavals, which left over 80 dead and led to the resignation of its President in October, have been linked to the mishandling of plans for natural gas exploitation. A report from Bolivian NGO CEDLA contends that plans to sell the gas to the US via Chile were more about ensuring continued support from the Bank and Fund to escape the current fiscal crisis than the long-term health of the economy. In another paper, Tom Kruse charges that the IMF’s position supported “the rapid conclusion of obscure deals made by un-transparent multinationals and unaccountable politicians, impossible for people to know about, much less evaluate or have voice over”.