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Bolivia's president suffers new blow as Senate censures oil minister
Bolivia's Energy Minister Andres SolizAFP
LA PAZ
Petroleumworld.com 08 24 06
Already struggling to implement his controversial plan to nationalize the energy sector, Bolivian President Evo Morales suffered a further setback as the Senate formally censured the policy's main architect.
The move came as Morales sent his vice president for talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in what was seen as an effort to resolve a bitter dispute over the price of natural gas Bolivia supplies to its neighbor.
In a session boycotted by the ruling party, the Senate on Wednesday formally censured Energy Minister Andres Soliz, blaming him for an allegedly crooked deal in which authorities claim the state lost as much as 38.5 million dollars.
The move forced Soliz to step down but only temporarily as Morales later reinstated the minister to his position. The president called the censure motion a "shameful event" instigated by the "enemies of the homeland."
Soliz, once reinstated, made a clearer accusation: "Just as we are negotiating with oil companies and when the country should be more united comes this censure move from the cronies of multinationals and the oligarchy."
Despite the opposition in Congress, Morales vowed his nationalization program "will not stop."
Soliz was the main architect of the ambitious program to nationalize the gas and oil industry, the main policy initiative of the leftist president who said it would help bring about a better distribution of wealth in the impoverished Andean country.
The program is due to be completed by November but has become bogged down in budgetary and other problems, while negotiations with Brazil, a key investor and consumer of Bolivian energy, have collapsed into a war of words.
Authorities hope Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera's visit to Brazil will improve the mood and restart serious negotiations.
The Bolivian government and Brazil's state-owned Petrobras are negotiating a price increase for the gas Bolivia supplies to Brazil, as well as the company's adherence to the nationalization decree.
Bolivia exports some 25 million cubic meters of gas a day to Brazil, which covers half of the South American powerhouse's gas needs, while Brazil is the largest investor in Bolivia's oil and gas sector and controls about 14.5 percent of the country's gas reserves.
Soliz at one stage suggested the possibility of international arbitration, but Petrobras flatly rejected the idea and accused Bolivia of unilaterally breaking off negotiations.
In addition to agreeing a gas price, the negotiators are seeking common ground on Petrobras's demands for legal security guarantees and compensation for the investments it has made in Bolivia since the 1990s.
The bilateral dispute already has dented Bolivia's budget outlook: Petrobras has slashed its planned 2001-2007 investment in Bolivia to 90 million dollars from two billion dollars.
AFP 23 2312 GMT 08 06
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