The People’s Pugilist

Your country is the second-biggest producer of natural gas in South America. Your government took control of that sector in 2006. How have foreign investors responded?
In 1999 there was $600 million in foreign investment. This year $1.2 billion of investment is scheduled. That's a historical record. Now, [investors] always look for some argument after they've made a commitment to not follow through. But as of last December that's the amount of investment we had guaranteed through negotiations. There are some companies that distrust us, and I understand their distrust, but investors will recoup their money. These companies have a right to make a profit.

So you feel you've acquired the necessary level of investment to maintain production at the necessary level, and to even be able to expand, and to avoid the fate of Venezuela, which has seen declining production levels?
That's our goal: to follow through on our commitments to Argentina and Brazil, to cover the domestic market, and to expand. But in energy we're talking not only about tapping hydrocarbons but also geothermal. A study has been carried out jointly by the governments of Japan and Bolivia to discover geothermal energy, and we've received a line of credit for over $300 million in order to make an investment. We also want to tap our lithium reserves. This year the state is going to begin to build a $6 million pilot plant, and from there we will move to a much larger plant.

What will happen if the May 4 referendum in the eastern states is successful, and they vote to become autonomous from the central government?
The Bolivian government has promised to guarantee autonomy in the framework of unity, legality, and with the goal of equalizing the different regions of Bolivia. It's right there in the constitution. But some groups are pushing this autonomy statute for purely political reasons. For them the problem isn't autonomy, or economic resources, but Evo Morales. They're always talking about how to overthrow the Indian. After May 4 we will continue to explain to the people that that is not the path—it's an illegal path.

Your relationship with the U.S. has been rocky. Are you optimistic that, come a new administration, those relationships could improve?
The relationship between the government of the United States and social and indigenous movements has always been difficult. Not just in Bolivia but worldwide. We need to have bilateral relations characterized by mutual respect. This means the representatives of the U.S. government should not become involved in internal problems in Bolivia, and any cooperation should be totally unconditional, and not with any political, programmatic, or ideological blackmail.

© 2008