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Economy & Business - March 2026

BOLIVIA: Latest fuel crisis sparked by contamination issue

Bolivia is facing yet another fuel crisis, after revelations in early February that contaminated fuel was distributed by state-owned hydrocarbons company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB). The company’s president, Yussef Akly, acknowledged that of the approximately 3m vehicles in Bolivia, around 2,000 may have been damaged by contaminated fuel, saying that the problem is mostly concentrated in the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, and Oruro. The contamination was apparently caused by rubber and manganese residue in storage tanks. However, transport unions in the capital La Paz have complained that hundreds of their vehicles have also been affected. The Bolivian mechanics’ association, CIMB, said on 3 February that as many as 60% of vehicles being seen by mechanics were having problems due to poor quality fuel.

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