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President Arce and his Plan for Bolivia’s Development

President Arce
On September 21, 2022, the President of Bolivia, Arce Catacora, gave a lecture at Yale University before participating in the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. Speaking to a small room of students and faculty, President Arce presented macroeconomic data from Bolivia’s last 20 years, noting successes during the 15-year reign of his political party, Movimento al Socialismo (MAS). Throughout his lecture, he emphasized a focus on resource extraction as the primary engine behind the country’s short and long-term growth.

About President Arce

President Arce began in a celebratory tone, comparing the successes of MAS’ socialist model compared to the “neoliberalist model” which existed before it. He noted that between 2006 and 2019, the years in which his party held power, GDP per capita grew by 4.7% compared to 3% from 1985 to 2005. He also spoke about Bolivia’s success in distributing those gains fairly, raising the income of the bottom 40% by 12.5% and adopting what he labeled a “democratization of the economy.”

Additionally, he stressed Bolivia’s financial stability, pointing out the country’s low levels of external debt. Drawing from data collected by the central bank, President Arce drew the crowd’s attention to the external public debt prior to the presidency of MAS’ Evo Morales, which reached a historic high of 63% of GDP in 2003. He then noted that after 2006, Bolivia’s external debt never rose above 33%, sitting at 28.9% of GDP under his administration.

Responding to critics of his “economic social communitarian productive model” he highlighted the continual growth of businesses in Bolivia as a sign of sustainable development. Beginning in 2005, Bolivia saw more than 250,000 companies originate over the course of 14 years, with smaller growth during the pandemic years. Going out of his way to address concerns over private investment under the socialist model, he claimed Bolivia had found a viable way to mix state involvement in the economy with entrepreneurship.

Bolivia’s Challenges

Although Arce’s presentation portrayed the last 20 years in an overwhelmingly positive tone, it omitted many of the challenges that Bolivia faces. Although his model is based upon natural resource extraction, with Bolivia’s primary resource being natural gas, this cannot keep up with the rate of growth of the Bolivian economy. In fact, Bolivia has already become a net importer of hydrocarbons, at a time when energy prices are at historic highs.

The Environment

In addition, Bolivia grapples with numerous environmental issues, including poor management of its portion of the Amazon rainforest. President Arce announced in July 2022 that he would be investing in palm oil to increase the country’s energy output, something that is both inefficient and environmentally harmful. Furthermore, Arce’s administration did little to quell the massive fires in Bolivia’s Chiquitania region, and his political predecessor Evo Morales actually signed a decree in 2019 making it easier for agribusiness to exploit the land. This is a far cry from his speech at Yale, in which he promised to “respect mother earth” after a question from a faculty member.

Human Rights Issues

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Bolivia’s questionable actions regarding human rights within Bolivia and South America threaten to sour any notions of success. During the questions which followed the presentation, President Arce was asked how Bolivia could claim to support human rights while remaining on friendly terms with Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, even amidst human rights abuses. His answer, vague and evasive, did little to conceal the fact that Bolivia continues to have close ties with Venezuela, even choosing to opt out of a regional conference if Venezuela did not receive permission to attend.

The Justice System

Even within Bolivia, others have accused Arce and his party of tampering with the justice system for political gain. In June 2022 former interim president Jeanine Anez received a 10-year sentence in prison for plotting a coup, despite her rise to Bolivia’s supreme court upholding the president. Prosecutors claim she was part of a plan to remove President Evo Morales from office in 2019, despite the fact that she did not participate in the largely peaceful protests which led to his resignation. Anez claims her imprisonment is a purely political affair, designed to legitimize MAS after its fall from power after allegedly committing fraud to win the 2019 presidential election.

Looking Ahead

President Arce’s economic model has proven that it can succeed, and his presentation is a testament to the fact that Bolivia’s growth under nearly 20 years of MAS rule has been truly unprecedented. However, it does not take away from Bolivia’s murky future, and dubious record with human rights. The country has the economic potential to develop strongly, but strong political and environmental protections still remain uncertain.

– Samuel Bowles
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts about Sanitation in Argentina

Sanitation in Argentina
Sanitation has been an ongoing issue in Argentina. In the last two decades, more citizens have gained access to running water and sewage than ever before. This is partially due to ongoing work by the United Nations, as well as an increase in national infrastructure. This article will provide a list of discussions around sanitation in Argentina, including causes, pollution and how the local governments are creating change.

10 Facts About Sanitation in Argentina

  1. Fracking damages natural water supplies. In September 2019, in Argentina’s Neuquén province, a fire burned for 24 days until professionals were finally able to stop the blaze. It was one of the many accidents that fracking caused in the country. In addition, oil leaking into the local water supply is one of the most common problems with fracking. These issues impact some of the most vulnerable communities, such as low-income areas, families with children, the elderly and disabled and local indigenous people.
  2. Low-income neighborhoods regularly struggle for clean drinking water. In the last three decades, Argentina has made strides to increase the amount of clean drinking water throughout Argentina. However, low-income areas and rural parts of the country remain without properly sanitized water for much of the year. In neighborhoods such as Villa La Cava, just outside of the capital Buenos Aires, it has become common practice for people to create their own makeshift water filters. People have also put small amounts of bleach in containers in an effort to clean their water.
  3. The United Nations has committed itself to sanitation in Argentia. In the summer of 2010, the United Nations General Assembly declared clean drinking water and sanitation human rights. The U.N. revealed during 2010 that the city of Córdoba was without access to public water distribution networks. A report showed that the city relied on heavily polluted groundwater and wells. At the time, the U.N. required local authorities to provide each household in the city with 200 liters of clean water per day until public water services were fully accessible.
  4. Argentina set a goal to provide sewage to 75 percent of the population. Water professionals and government officials met in 2017 to discuss solutions for better access to sanitation. During the meeting, Argentina announced a new goal of providing sewage access to 75 percent of the population.
  5. About 90 percent of the population currently has access to sewage.  The national government’s 2017 goal has proven to be successful. As of 2020, approximately 90 percent of the population has access to a sewage system. Much of this is due to the recent construction of a sewage pipe, which the Argentinian government has called “the most important one in 70 years.” The pipe cost $1.2 billion to make and runs 40 kilometers underground. These efforts have successfully increased the overall sanitation in Argentina.
  6. Proper sanitation in Argentina requires more infrastructure. Argentina received a loan of $320 million to improve the infrastructure in the Buenos Aires area. The money will go towards making much-needed improvements for sewage filtrations, renovating existing water treatment plants and 130 kilometers of water treatment pipes and expanding already-existing sewers. The loan specifically targets the infrastructure in the Buenos Aires region. While this is the most populated part of Argentina, much of the country still requires significant sanitation infrastructure.
  7. Regulation of public water utilities has grown in the last decade. Due to the involvement of the United Nations and a push from the public, government officials have become more focused on the regulation of public water utilities. Since the increasingly strict regulation of public waterways, the country’s overall sanitation has improved. This has led to a better quality of water not only in households but also in restaurants and schools.
  8. Water consumption in Argentina is among the highest in the world. ResearchGate reports that Argentina’s national water use is approximately 387 liters of water per person per day. This is some of the highest in the world. In Buenos Aires specifically, the water use is higher at 500 liters and people use it for personal use, hygiene, cleaning and drinking. In contrast, the Water Footprint Organization predicts that the average worldwide water consumption is 157 liters per person per day.
  9. The majority of water usage goes towards agriculture. Argentina uses most of its clean water for agriculture and farming. Because the country has such a vast variety of soil and tropics, farmers can grow many different types of crops to export throughout the world. Argentina is the largest international supplier of soybean meal and the third-largest supplier for corn. Pollution can be damaging to millions of these crops if water is not sanitary, resulting in lost time and money.
  10. Drier areas sometimes lack access to safely treated water. Because of Argentina’s varying climates, certain areas across the country are drier. These places are generally more rural and the people are less connected to the main pipes of larger cities. This can be dangerous because inhabitants often depend on rainwater collection for the ability to cook food and shower. When rain is scarce, people have to travel to lakes and rivers for water, making it difficult for Argentines to ensure that their water is safe to drink.

Sanitation in Argentina continues to be an ongoing challenge in rural areas, according to local townspeople. When the United Nations declared drinking water a human right in 2010, the Argentinian government began adding new infrastructure including pipes, sewage systems, water filtration tanks and water purification systems. While current efforts demonstrate that the level of sanitation in Argentina can undergo a major transformation, many areas throughout the country still struggle for clean drinking water each day.

– Asha Swann
Photo: Flickr