La Paz (AFP) – The Bolivian government announced on Wednesday the placement under temporary supervision of the public oil company YPFB and the upcoming privatization of fuel distribution, against a backdrop of significant shortages.

Published on: 09/03/2026 - 07:53 Modified on: 09/03/2026 - 10:06

The Ministry of Hydrocarbons also affirmed that the government intended to "gradually" withdraw from YPFB its role in the marketing of fuels and entrust it to private companies. The government wants the company to refocus on the exploration, exploitation and refining of hydrocarbons.

Fuel supplies have become one of the main problems of the government of center-right President Rodrigo Paz, who came to power last November with a promise to end shortages.

Long lines have become common outside gas stations, with some drivers sometimes sleeping in their vehicles while waiting for a refill.

“The national government orders extraordinary state intervention against YPFB in order to restore its efficiency, strengthen the supply of fuels and make its logistics chain transparent,” the presidency announced on social networks.

The guardianship could last up to 180 days, according to a decree published Tuesday in the Official Journal. It aims in particular to “obtain reliable and sufficient information to develop an analysis”, specifies the document.

“The ordinary measures that we took did not work and (...) that is why we are taking this extraordinary measure,” Hydrocarbons Minister Marcelo Blanco underlined at a press conference. According to him, fuel shortages are due to “logistical failures in importation and distribution”.

“The government's intention is that YPFB returns to its natural role and does not dedicate itself to the marketing of hydrocarbons,” insisted Mr. Blanco.

Shortages and protests

In December, Rodrigo Paz removed fuel subsidies, an emblematic policy of the socialist governments of Evo Morales (2006-2019) and Luis Arce (2020-2025), which had contributed to the depletion of the country's foreign currency reserves and the difficulties in importing fuel.

Mr. Paz had promised that removing subsidies would end the shortages that exasperate Bolivians.

Added to this discontent was a wave of complaints in January against YPFB for the distribution of poor quality gasoline, which damaged tens of thousands of vehicles.

Public Works Minister Mauricio Zamora told the press that "half of the fuel" imported by the state ended up smuggled in other countries, with the complicity of YPFB employees.

Farmers have been demonstrating regularly since last week in the country, after the executive doubled the price of diesel to bring it to 1.5 dollars per liter, a measure intended according to the government to fight against smuggling.

In the Santa Cruz department (east), dozens of farmers used tires and felled trees to block a line of trucks and other vehicles for 24 hours, AFP noted. This was one of the four blocking points identified in this department on Wednesday.

These roadblocks defy the state of exception decreed by the government to put an end to the previous wave of demonstrations against the economic crisis, the most serious in Bolivia in four decades, which paralyzed the country between May and June.

© 2026 AFP

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