LatinNews Daily - 18 March 2026

*Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz has announced that his government will present a bill to replace the 2005 hydrocarbons law. Paz said that the reform is part of his ‘50/50’ decentralisation plan, which aims for 50% of state funds to be administered by the central government, and 50% by regional and local governments. “This law isn’t going to benefit the state, this law will benefit the capacity for development of Bolivians and their regions,” Paz said yesterday during a visit to Brazil. Paz said that Bolivia needs to attract foreign investment and technology from countries such as Brazil, which he said “has an enormous market that never stops asking for energy, and Bolivia over the coming years needs to generate that energy, not only to meet our internal needs but also to export gas and other types of energy”. The current hydrocarbons law was introduced under former president Carlos Mesa (2003-2005) and established significant state control over the oil and gas sectors, which was then extended further under former president Evo Morales (2006-2019).

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