Bolivian lawmakers reject US$120mn roadworks loans

Bolivia’s lower house of congress rejected US$119 million in international loans aimed at financing three road projects and supporting climate resilience efforts in the sector. 

The vote against the loans, 54 to 49, was heavily criticized by the government, which blamed the opposition parties and lawmakers allied with former president Evo Morales.

The contract, signed by the government and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in June, involves US$17.8mn for institutional strengthening and US$92mn for three infrastructure projects, as well as US$8.5mn for project management, documents show.

The projects are the following: 

Chimore-Ivirgarzama highway (US$32mn): Entails upgrading a 32km road in Cochabamba department to better withstand heavy rains. Works also include a new 391m bridge and access roads for Chimore municipality.

Guanay bridge (US$15.1mn): Consists of the replacement of an existing one-lane bridge crossing the Tipuani river in Guanay municipality (La Paz department), with a new 194m structure with two lanes, as well as building 2km of access roads. 

Molino-Monteagudo road, stretch III (US$43.9mn): Involves works on two sections entailing 13.2km in total in Chuquisaca department. The first consists of rehabilitating an existing 6km stretch, and the other entails building a 7.2km bypass in Monteagudo municipality.

Planning minister Sergio Cusicanqui criticized the lawmakers' rejection of the loans.

“[Lawmakers] should also explain to people in those areas why they don’t want to approve [the funding], why they are opposing and blocking the development of those regions, why they don't want those Bolivians to improve their living conditions,” the minister was quoted as saying by daily La Razón.

The approval of multilateral financing has turned into a major source of conflict for President Luis Arce, with around US$1bn worth of loans stuck in congress.

Both the opposition and Morales' supporters in the legislature argue that the loans only add more debt to the country’s already stressed finances.