Bolivia's 2024 Economic Growth Falls Short of Projections, Economist Warns of Recession

La Paz, Bolivia – The Bolivian economy registered a growth of only 0.73% in 2024, a figure significantly below the government's projection of 3.71%. This was highlighted by Fernando Romero, President of the College of Economists of Tarija, who noted that the actual growth represents only 20% of what the government had anticipated. According to Romero, the 2024 economic performance is also considerably lower than the projections made by international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which forecast 1.6% growth, and the World Bank, which projected 1.4%. "This data is very far from even the projections of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank," Romero stated. He further explained that this marks the second lowest economic growth in Bolivia over the past 36 years, excluding the pandemic year of 2020. The previous lowest growth was 0.43% in 1999. Romero described the current situation as a "recessive process" and an "economic contraction," attributing it to a worn-out economic model that relied heavily on public spending financed by hydrocarbon exports. With the drastic fall in hydrocarbon exports, the country has had to resort to international reserves and the liquidation of state gold reserves to finance current expenditures, including fuel imports and debt service. Romero also pointed to Bolivia's low credit ratings, inclusion on the FATF grey list, high corruption levels, and limited economic freedom as contributing factors to the challenging economic landscape. "This puts a very big challenge on us to try to control inflation, although that has also broken historical records," Romero said, noting that Bolivia is currently the most inflationary economy in the region. He concluded by emphasizing the urgent need for a change in the economic and political model to achieve truly sustainable long-term growth, independent of raw materials.

deredes.tv

INE: El 2024 la economía creció en 0,73%; “es el 20% de lo que proyectó el Gobi…

1751753013 INE: El 2024 la economía creció en 0,73%; “es el 20% de lo que proyectó el Gobierno”, señala Fernando Romero, presidente del Colegio de E…