President Rodrigo Paz Submits Investment Bill to Limit Expropriations

President Rodrigo Paz submitted an investment bill to Congress on Tuesday designed to limit the executive branch's authority to nationalize or expropriate private investments. The proposed law would mandate legislative approval through a national priority law, shifting the power of expropriation from the current government to a broader state decision. This measure aims to reduce political discretion and attract foreign capital to Bolivia's struggling economy.

Finance Minister José Gabriel Espinoza stated that the bill ensures such actions are a decision of the state. The legislation is the first part of a structural economic package that will also include laws regarding hydrocarbons and public-private partnerships. To address constitutional restrictions on international arbitration in the energy sector without amending the Constitution, the administration plans to utilize association contracts.

Additionally, the bill proposes the creation of a National Investment Agency. This agency is intended to streamline bureaucracy and coordinate investment efforts to lower the fiscal deficit and reduce labor informality.